


Saturn's Arch

by Lassenri



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Female Harry Potter, Good Albus Dumbledore, Good Malfoy Family (Harry Potter), Good Tom Riddle, Harry Potter Has a Twin, Pre-Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Rape of Minors, Rape/Non-con Elements, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 03:02:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 24
Words: 40,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16715337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lassenri/pseuds/Lassenri
Summary: Hannah (Harry) and her twin Laura are orphaned not by Voldemort but by slave traders, and sold to a strange but nice family who live on a remote Irish farm.  When tragedy comes, Hannah is left to heal from the trauma, an endeavour made much harder while at Hogwarts.





	1. Baker Farm

**Author's Note:**

> A.N: In this story, the Potters are a minor family that stopped being pureblooded generations ago. This won’t be mentioned much because it doesn’t move the story along, but it should be noted.

Lily Potter nee Evans became a mother during the largest storm in six years. The hospital was crowded with quidditch enthusiasts or general flyers that had been caught out, each sporting burns, broken bones or fever. The staff were busy enough that only one nurse was present for the birthing of Hannah and Laura Potter.  
The new mother was sent home that night, and welcomed by the cheer of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, both of whom cried when handed an infant. James held his wife tightly and covered her chest, enjoying the feel of her heart beating.  
Of the many photographs taken of the family, this moment enthralled all who saw it.

The twins were raised around the other wizarding children of Godric's Hollow, and were placed in child daycare from a young age. Lily was never far however, as she had begun an apprenticeship under Bathilda Bagshot, who lived across the street from the daycare.

As the children grew older, the more time Remus would take in teaching them. With Sirius and James busy as Aurors, and Lily co-writing a book with Bathilda, he found himself with the twins more frequently, and took the opportunity to teach them writing and mathematics. And so it continued until the Halloween of 1985.

Hannah and Laura were downstairs eating a breakfast of eggs and tomatoes with Sirius. Their small feet kicking the air under their seats, occasionally hitting each other or the chair legs. Lily stumbled into the kitchen, her hair tangled and pajamas wrinkled. She kissed her daughters’ heads before near hopping to the stovetop coffee maker. The radio was playing softly in the background, going unheard as it spluttered the daily muggle news.  
‘…ctim has been identified as Amy Addams… seventh… western Engla… indoors’. The radio sound vanished in static and Sirius absent-mindedly turned it off.

“Now girls” Lily said, turning on the burner, “Do you remember what to do today?”

“Yep” the twins chorused around mouthfuls of egg. Sirius laughed quietly and continued reading his paper.

“When daddy wakes up,” Started Laura,  
“We go upstairs,” continued Hannah,  
“And spend the day in our rooms,”  
“So, you, Daddy and Siri can get ready for the party!”  
“Then at 6,”  
“Which is nearly our bedtime” Hannah giggled,  
“You’ll come and get us.”

The coffee maker whistled and Lily turned away.  
“Make sure you get dressed in those pretty new dresses.” Lily added, smiling softly.

James didn’t wake up until past 11, which the twins found quite amusing. And as promised, they immediately made their way up to their rooms to hide for the day.

“Girls,” Lily called before they closed their door, “Love you.”  
Hannah and Laura smiled and called back before the door clicked shut.

They had no shortage of activities to do; rotating from exploding snap, to dress up, reading time, to nap time, colouring in, puzzles and dancing back to exploding snap. At 1, James came up to give them lunch, kissed them on their cheeks, and went back down stairs.

The hours ticked away, faster in some places than others, until 6pm saw the girls sitting on their beds in their dresses, waiting to be collected.  
Hannah jumped off of her bed and skipped across the floor to join Laura, and started up a game of patty-cake. Not that either of them were any good, having learned from two older girls just the day before. But it was fun and alleviated the boredom that came with late parents.

6.30 came and went, followed by 7.00 then 8.00. The girls were beginning to get tired and hungry, and their patience was waning.

“It’s 8.30” Laura whispered.  
“Should we just go down? Maybe they forgot about us?”  
“Or fell asleep.”

They looked unsurely at the door, but a loud stomach grumble erased what remained of their patience. Hannah walked forward and quietly turned the doorknob, Laura clutching her other hand lightly. Together, they snuck out into the hall and looked around. The hall was dark, and no light was rising from downstairs either. 

The twins shared a look, and descended the stairs slowly, avoiding the creaky one in the middle. The frond door, they saw, was wide open and hanging off of one hinge, leaves and rain tumbling inside with the wind. Laura squeezed her hand tighter around Hannah’s as they crept into the lounge-room. If possible, the room was even darker than the hall and Hannah was afraid to enter.

“Mommy?” Laura whispered.  
“Daddy?” Hannah stepped forwards slowly, her eyes adjusting somewhat.  
“Uncle Siri?”

There was no reply. The twins stopped their slow walk suddenly when something wet soaked their socks and made their feet sticky.

“Hannah, I’m scared…”  
“We should go find someone…”

Hannah pulled her sister closer and retreated to the front door. The front gate was creaking in the rain and the street had never looked so uninviting. 

“We should get Mrs. Bagshot” Hannah muttered.

The two nodded to each other, then began to run. They burst through the gate and into the cobblestone street, their feet making small pattering sounds in the wet.

Bathilda lived on the other side of the church, just far enough to have the girls panting and cold by the time they arrived, their legs muddy and dresses wet.

Hannah banged on the old woman’s door, “Mrs. Bagshot! Mrs. Bagshot!”  
But the woman was quite old and also quite asleep, so the children’s cries went unheard. Next, they ran to Magda Jameson’s house, who ran the daycare, but she was away in London for a Halloween party. 

“We could go to the pub.” Laura suggested, and the two instantly began to run.

They ran back past the church and onto the small street that connected to the main road. The rain was harsh, and they were colder now, their throats stinging.

“Is this the catch?” Came a scratched voice. The girls stopped and watched warily as a man walked out from behind a tree, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.

“Double for our trouble, too.” Said another. The twins weren’t able to see the new man before a whispered ‘stupefy’ knocked them out onto the wet pavement.

__oOoOoOo__

Hannah woke with a sore head. It took her a while to realize that her hands and feet were tied together, and even longer to realize that it was daytime. Laura was asleep next to her, her position mirroring her twins, snoring quietly.

“Tell you what,” Came a familiar voice. “I’ll let you take both if I can smell your cunt.” The man laughed mockingly.  
“Or I could take neither, and leave you with two more mouths to feed. £400 is the best offer you’ll get”  
“What do you think, Jake?”  
“£450”  
“No, £400. That’s my offer.”  
“£400 and a tit squeeze.”  
“£400, and I don’t inform the police.”  
“It’s not wise to threaten strangers girl, bad for your health.”  
“Oh, I’m not threatening. I left a letter at home that is to be delivered to the nearest police station should I not make it back. You truly leave yourselves quite open to such protections.”  
“… Fine. … Adam, get the kids.”

Large feet stomped over to Hannah and Laura, before a bucket of cold water was splashed onto their heads. Laura gasped and snapped her eyes open, mouth opening and closing in confusion. The man untied their feet then lifted them by their wrists, hurting their shoulders as the joints stretched.  
With a shove, the twins were dropped at the feet of a middle-aged woman dressed in black and brown. Her piercing blue eyes searched the girls, focusing on their now ruined dresses, before she nodded and passed a roll of money over to the men.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” The man said, and kissed the air with a pop.

The lady made a disapproving noise from the back of her throat, and ushered the twins up.  
“Come along,” She said in a voice that left no room for argument, “What are your names?”

They walked along a muddy track towards a car, hidden by a large bush, and never looked back at the two men.

“Er… Hannah Jane Potter” Hannah muttered.  
“Laura Lilly Potter…”

The woman hummed and pursed her lips. “My name is Mrs. Baker. Mrs. Adeline Baker. You will address me as Ma’am. I know you must be grieved by the recent death of your parents, but you will be working for my family now, and your grieving will not affect your work. Is that clear?”

The girls couldn’t understand half of what Mrs. Baker had said, as she spoke quickly and quietly, but they understood enough.

“Mommy and Daddy died?” said Laura.  
“Yes.” Was the clipped reply.  
“…”  
“…”  
“We wont ever see them again?” asked Hannah.  
“No.”

They were put into the back of the car with the doors shut and locked. Mrs. Baker started the engine and sighed, looked back, but remained silent.

The twins didn’t really understand death, they were too young for such a concept, but they did understand that their parents were gone, and weren’t coming back.

By the time Mrs. Baker had pulled into the drive of a large villa, both Hannah and Laura were blinded with tears, snot spilling into their mouths and down their chins as they held each other tightly. Their small faces scrunched and pained, but they made no noise louder than a sniffle or gasp.

The woman sighed and crossed her arms. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She muttered before leading the children out of the car and into a Lodge left of the large house.

__oOoOoOo__

If I concentrate, I can recall every event, every breath that happened on that farm. I don’t even have to concentrate particularly hard. The challenge though, comes in not looking back at all. Some doors should never be re-opened, not even in thought.  
Yet here I am, looking back with the express purpose of remembering everything that happened.

__oOoOoOo__

The girls were sat on a cushy sofa, stripped and under layers of blankets. Mrs. Baker was long gone, uncomfortable around the crying twins. 

“Here we are dears” It was Egraine Filch. She had met them at the door and took the girls, removed their wet dresses and dried their hair. She had run up a case of narrow wooden stairs, and returned with two large nightgowns.

“Mr. Bakers about to go to town, he’ll get you some nice little clothes while he’s there”

The old woman, who looked to be nearly 70, carefully lowered the gowns over Hannah and Laura’s heads, before adding another blanket to the pile. The front door opened with a pop, and two pairs of feet clonked on the wood. A young man and woman entered the open room, one shaking off dirt and the other flour.

“Ah! Are these the new little helpers?” The man said cheerfully. He was tall and pale, with short orange hair and dusted in more freckles than stars in the sky. His broad shoulders hefting a large bag of gardening tools and clippings. 

“Yes, and don’t you go bothering them now. They’ve had quite the time.” Egraine huffed, pulling her long white hair into a quick bun.

The young woman crept forwards and knelt down, her black hair falling out of her hair net and covering her cheeks.  
“Hello there. I’m Mags. I’m the cook here. And that giant over there is Trevor, he’s the gardener,” Her voice was quiet and gentle, sweet like honey, “We’re going to look after you now. Mrs. Baker got you from those bad people so we could do just that. You have no reason to be scared.”

Hannah and Laura nodded, and Mags smiled brightly. For a while, there was relative silence. With the adults zipping around from room to room, the twins were left to huddle under the wool and cotton, and after few minutes drifted off to sleep. 

The next room over from the lounge-room was the kitchen/dining-room, filled with a long wooden table in the center, surrounded by benches, cupboards, ovens and stovetops. There, Egraine, Mags, and Trevor sat, each holding a cup of tea and small frowns.

“How do we know their parents are dead?” Mags huffed. “Those dodgy sort of people could have snatched them from anywhere.”

Trevor hummed and played with a small silver cross around his neck, leaning more heavily on the wooden table.  
“And why haven’t we just called the cops on them?” The man sighed.

“I’ve met these sorts before; Gangs looking for easy money. They most likely killed the parents themselves.”Egraine sighed, “And we can’t go to the police now. They’ll arrest Mrs. Baker too. Not to mention their friends will probably come and kill us for it.”

“So that’s it then? We do nothing?”  
“Yes, Trevor dear. We do nothing. Those types will get what’s coming though. They always get caught at one point or another.” 

Trevor looked peeved at the old woman’s reply, but he knew it was true. The slavers would get caught eventually, but no one at the farm could have anything to do with it.

__oOoOoOo__

Of the four that Hannah and Laura had met, there were seven other inhabitants of the farm. There was Mr. Simon Baker, husband to Adeline Baker, and the big man in charge. Their three children; Henry, who was four years older than the twins, Mary, who was a year older, and Baby Toby, who hadn’t fully seen a year yet. 

Then there was Mrs. Linda Kain, who worked as a house cleaner, and her husband, Mr. Andrew Kain. Mr. Kain was the Baker children’s Music tutor, and knew how to play near every instrument. He liked to brag about it as well.

Finally, there was old aunty Agnes, as she liked to be called. She was the great aunt of Mrs. Baker, and a permanent source of chocolates and sweets. All skin and bones with a love for pearls and large hats.

The twins leaned that Egraine was the nanny and overall teacher to the children, and as such, took the girls under her strict but kind care. Hannah and Laura’s life was not unpleasant on the farm, quite reversed to be honest. They would attend classes with Henry and Mary in the main house, then help either Mags or Linda in the kitchen. If it were a nice day, they would work with Trevor, who would show then how to groom and ride horses. 

The two shared a small room in the lodge, with a small round window that looked into a nearby wood. Next to them was Mr. and Mrs. Kain’s room, who had made it quite clear that the twins were welcome at any hour – provided they knocked first.

On weekends, the twins played with Mary and Henry, who were both happy for some new faces. The farm was just a little too far away from a school, so the Baker children rarely interacted with new people.


	2. Red Skirts and Blue Cows.

Routine enveloped the farm, and as everyone got along quite well the months ticking away slowly but contently. The twins stopped crying over their parents, and by the time they were 7, all the faces from Godric's Hollow had melted and leaked away. 

July 1988 brought the 5 children of Baker Farm to a brook by the property. Further along was a deep and fast flowing stream, but they were forbidden from going there without an adult.

They had stripped down to their underpants and were splashing and playing about. It was Hannah’s turn to look after Toby, so they sat together on a checked picnic blanket. The boy was sickly, and had near to no immune system, so he wasn’t allowed to go swimming. Truthfully, he wasn’t allowed to do anything for fear that he would get a fever. The twins had made a great game of sneaking sweats to him after dinner.

“1, 2, 3 … 4, 7”  
“5.” Interrupted Hannah as she nibbled on apple slices.  
“5 … er 6, 7, 8 …, 9 … and 10!” The boy seemed quite pleased with his conquering of numbers, and rewarded himself with a piece of chocolate. 

Henry walked over and dropped next to the girl, raising a blond eyebrow.  
“We are becoming masters of mathematics.” Hannah said dramatically, swishing her long black hair.  
“I see. Well Egraine will be happy. She may even give you extra lessons.”

Toby had zoned out with his nose in a picture book, not bothering to listen to his siblings banter – for the Potter twins where as good as sisters to him.

“I’m going to have a snack now, so you can go join the other girls” The 12-year-old boy said while looking through the packed basket. Hannah stood and shook some leaves and dirt from her legs. Laura and Mary were squealing happily as they threw sand and water at each other. But when Hannah began to walk, she heard a loud and high-pitched squeak from behind.

Turning around, the girl saw a startled Henry looking pointedly at her legs. Looking down, Hannah was quite shocked – and a little frightened – to see a trail of blood falling down both legs.

“Holy crap!”  
The 5 packed up their picnic quickly and rushed back to the farm, looking for any adult they could come across. Mary and Laura holding Hannah closely. 

Oddly enough, the first to be seen was old aunty Agnes. Odd, because the old woman was hardly ever outside the main house, and odder still, because she was without her ever present hats. But at that moment, the oddities of an old woman did not concern the children.

“Aunty Agnes!” Laura cried.  
“We need your help!” Yelled Mary.

The woman stopped her slow walk and watched the approaching horde, a twinkle in her blue eyes. 

“Am I going to die?” Hannah asked, unsure if she was joking or serious. Agnes looked down and saw the blood, now covering the girl’s feet and thighs.

“Ah …” She chuckled, “No deary. You’re not going to die. You’re just a bit of an early bloomer!”

The 4 older children looked confused – Toby was watching two sheep argue over a tuft of grass.

“Well, come along deary. Lets get you cleaned up. You had better come too, Laura” Agnes laughed. Not waiting for a response, the old woman turned and began to walk towards the main house.

Hannah and Laura looked to the Baker siblings and shrugged, before doing as they where bid.

__oOoOoOo__

Aunty Agnes had an old flower vase in her room. I later found out that she had been writing letters to her dead husband and stored them there. With hindsight, I can see how incredibly lonely she was. 

__oOoOoOo__

 

Although awkward, and time consuming, the eldest resident of Baker farm had sat the twins down and explained what she called ‘the red flower’. Half way through, Egraine had come in – having been looking for the twins – and joined in. It was a conversation the girls were glad for though, as that night, Laura followed her sister in bleeding. 

The next morning, the twins decided to spend time with Gladice – one of the farms milking cows. They sat on the wooden fence and sucked on some chocolates Mags had given them. They didn’t question it, just enjoyed having the treat two days in a row.

“I want to cut my hair.” Laura said suddenly.  
“What? Why?”  
“Don’t you think it would look cool? It’s really fashionable too. Though I don’t think I like the bigness.”  
“But you have such nice hair now.”  
“I know, but don’t you think a bob or a pixie cut would be cute? I need a change. Maybe I can get one on our next birthday?”

Hannah shrugged and grabbed at her own hair, giving it a gently pull and tug. The cow made a loud noise, then continued to eat.

“We don’t make our own cheeses, do we?” Laura said absent mindedly, leaning on an outstretched arm.  
“No. I heard there’s a cheesery in the next town over though. It’s where Linda gets the blue that Mrs. Baker likes”

There was silence for a few minutes then. The twins watching clouds move quickly across the sky.

“Who do you think first made blue cheese?”  
“And why?” Hannah added.  
“Maybe they saw a blue cow?”

They glanced over at Gladice, chewing happily on a tuft of grass, and raised their eyebrows.

“There actually are blue cows aren’t there?”  
“Belgian Blue Cows? But I don’t think they’re actually blue. Hannah replied. She found herself imagining the milking cow as blue, and making blue cheese from her milk. Laura seemed to mirror her trail of thoughts.

Suddenly there was a ZAP! And an even bigger BANG! And Gladice’s coat had changed to a vibrant blue. She looked around alarmed and leaped up when full wheels of blue cheese started to appear at her feet.

The twins where stumped, and simply sat there watching, identical looks of awe on their faces.

“What are you two – GOODNESS!” Cried Egraine as she approached.

The twins spun around and Hannah fell off the fence. When all three looked back to the cow, she was completely back to normal – although a little spooked.

“Well now,” The woman sighed, joining the girls on the fence, “It would seem that you must go through two big talks in two days.”

The twins looked skeptical, but saw Egraine was in no mood to be argued with. So they settled and waited.

“Where to begin. … Well, I suppose by saying … you two are witches,” The girls made to counter, but were silenced with a look, “You see, its quite common for young witches and wizards to accidentally display their magic at about your ages. My husband you see, he was a wizard …”

And so the evening vanished in Egraine’s explanations of magic and the school that her son wasn’t able to attend. Small memories resurfaced for the twins, of dancing teddy-bears and floating biscuits, and the twins knew that Egraine was right, they were witches, and so were their parents. At some point, the conversation had shifted to Egrains family, and she spoke with a lost expression.

“My husband thought it would impress me,” She said, pulling a black stone from her pocket, “Had stolen it from some wealthy lord. He was quite stupid, I tell you. It’s a miracle he lived as long as he did!”

“What about your son? Where is he?” Laura asked, watching as the stone was put safely away.

“He was ashamed of me, I think. Or angry. I think he blamed me for his lack of magic. Ran off as soon as he could afford it. We trade letters every now and again, but …”

While a part of Egraine knew it was highly inappropriate to talk to children about this, she couldn’t stop. The last time she had talked of her family was ten years previous, and the tension had build up in her system.

“I hope he’s happy though. I suppose that’s all I can do”

The twins looked at each other and nodded, before wrapping their arms around the woman. Egrain smiled and patted their hands.

“Now girls,” She said sternly, “For the time being, you must keep your magic a secret. There would be a lot of trouble if people found out about it, and you two would be in danger. Do you understand?”

Hannah and Laura nodded. 

__oOoOoOo__

Christmas came with snowstorms, and that night I dreamed of a giant spider wrapping a web around the house, eating the inhabitants when it felt hungry, and with every person it grew larger and hungrier.

I woke in a panic when it was my turn to be eaten, and saw that Laura had had just as bad a dream. We had nightmares every night from then on, and took to sleeping in the same bed.   
Egraine tied lavender to the headboards, and bags of sandalwood under our pillows. It helped a little, but not enough for me to sleep alone.


	3. The Beginning of the End

It was early February, and the twins were helping Mags and Linda peel potatoes in the kitchen of the main house. The sun was setting over the forest, making gold flecks in the snow. Mr. Kain – for the twins could never call him Andrew, as he was first and foremost a teacher – was tuning Mary’s violin in the corner. Mrs. Baker was down as well, reading a Jane Austin novel, a pair of spectacles balanced on her petite nose.

Mr. Baker entered the room in a large winter coat and hat. He looked around, and upon spotting Mr. Kain, grinned like a little boy.

“I’m going for a short walk.” He said.  
“What? Now? Its nearly dark?” Mrs. Baker questioned, looking up with pressed lips.  
“I’ll be back soon dear, I’ll be staying on the farm. Andrew, would you care to join?”

Mr. Kain didn’t look surprised at the invitation, and collected his coat from the back of his chair. Together they looked like giddy schoolboys, and Mrs. Baker shook her head.

“Suppers in an hour. You had better be back by then” Linda said, pointing at them with her peeler. They nodded and left, the door creaking as it closed.

They weren’t back in time for dinner. Or dessert, or tea. Their wives shared frowns and concerned looks, but there was little they could do. It was dark out, and the men had taken the only working torch. So they waited.

Egraine provided tea as the two women sat by the fireplace. The couches surrounding the hearth were cushy and covered in blankets, but neither Linda nor Mrs. Baker looked particularly comfortable.

“Are those little boys still out?” Came the crinkled voice of aunty Agnes.  
The old woman waddled into the room, her fluffy slippers scraping the floor, and sat next to Linda.

“Maybe they’re off dancing with faeries.” Agnes said.  
“Aunty.” Mrs. Baker tisked.

The twins, who were sitting on the floor, looked up and raised their eyebrows.  
“Are faeries real then?” Hannah asked.

Aunty Agnes leaned forwards, her eyes twinkling madly.  
“Oh yes,” she said and lifted a necklace from under her nighty, making it gleam in the firelight, “and they’re crafty. This is sugar, and if you spill it, the faerie has to stop and count every grain. A handy trick.”

The twins looked in awe at the sugar filled glass, imagining shattering it on the ground to escape some horrid monster.

“Oh, stop filling their heads with nonsense!” Mrs. Baker chuffed fondly.

Just then, the door opened and in walked Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker. They were silent, and their faces blank, even as their wives demanded answers.

Aunty Angus stood up and began to leave, but stopped to whisper something into Egraine’s ear. The woman frowned and watched the elder retreat up the stairs.

The men grabbed their wives hands and began to lead them away, both women struggling and angry. But Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker seemed to not hear, and the women’s protests echoed in the halls until they were too far away.

“Well that was odd.” Laura whispered.  
“Most ungentlemanly.” Hannah replied.  
“Maybe they got drunk?”  
“Went to the cellars instead of their big walk…”

__oOoOoOo__

Before, I could tell there was no maliciousness in their eyes. When you’re little, you can see those things. In all truthfulness, they had probably gone on that walk to smoke a casing of cigarettes and gossip like Mags and Linda were prone to do. They had told their wives they had quit, you see. And it’s not considered overly masculine to gossip about the goings on in town and among other families.

But a lot can change in an evening, and the Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker that left were not the ones that came back. 

__oOoOoOo__

 

Over the next few weeks, Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker continued in their odd behavior. They took to spending all day in the cellar, cleaning it out and seeming to renovate it, not leaving until suppertime. Henry was yelled at when he tried to go down, and the men started to bolt the door shut.

One night, Hannah and Laura were woken by thumping downstairs. Creeping out of their rooms, they saw Mr. Baker chasing Mags around the kitchen. She had a chair, and was using it as a buffer until she could get to her room and lock the door. 

The twins were woken up three more times in this way, until Mr. Baker seemed to give up on his game of cat and mouse.

It saddened the twins to see that as the days continued on, Linda grew more distant and hollow. Her eyes darkened, and her skin paled. Her and Mags no longer gossiped cheerfully.


	4. Two Deaths Too Many

Spring had arrived and gifted 1989 with two baby cows and a promising crop. Most of the inhabitants of Baker Farm were down at the stream, celebrating Egraine’s 70th birthday. It was still too cold to swim, but Trevor was fishing happily, and Mags was talking animatedly to Egraine and aunty Agnes, the 4 older children running around while Mrs. Baker entertained her youngest child.

When Mags lit the candles on a small cake, Laura and Hannah realized they had left their present up at the lodge.

“We’ll be back in a sec!” They cried, already running away from the stream.  
Hannah tripped several times, so by the time they had collected their presents of home made sweets, the girl was in need of a band aid and a change of clothes.

The twins were walking back to the party, slower this time, when they heard a metal bucket bang on the floor of the barn. Without question, they changed direction and made to fix whatever accident had happened. But the closer they got, the more noise they heard.

Slowing down further and lowering to a crawl, the girls made their way to the window, hoping to peak in. There was nothing at first, but the noises led their eyes towards the back, where they saw Mr. Kain, Mr. Baker and Linda stuck and moving together, naked as they could be. The twins didn’t wait to see more, retreated silently and knowing they wouldn’t say a thing.

Three days after the party, aunty Agnes died in the night at age 96. She was found in her room by Mags, who said the old woman had died while reading a comic book, and snacking on caramels. It was something that had lessened the blow somewhat, and matched her so perfectly.

Her will had stated that she should be buried under a tree, that everyone had to tell a joke at her funeral, and that all the adults had to get drunk. She had then listed the songs she wanted played, the dances to be danced, and a recipe for a horrendously rich tiramisu. Only then, would her belongings be divided amongst the family. 

Everyone got dressed up, even Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker whom the twins had started avoiding. Egraine had even borrowed Mr. Bakers car, gone into town and bought the twins a new dress each, and Trevor had un-shelved his fiddle.

__oOoOoOo__

Aunty Agnes’s funeral was turned into a party. There were faerie lights, and cakes. The priest that came from town was persuaded to stay and drink with Egraine and Mags. His name was Father Thomas. Mr. Kain and Trevor played music until they got too drunk to do so, where upon Hannah and I grabbed Mary’s radio. 

I only remember one joke from that night. It was so stupid, and unbelievably, it was from the dispassionate Mrs. Baker.  
She said “What would you get if you cross-breed a shark and a cow? ………. I have no idea, but I wouldn’t try milking it!”  
Egraine ended up snorting some of her wine.

Mags had made the tiramisu to the letter, and we all ate at least one slice. I had several.   
There is a part of me that is glad aunty Agnes had died, so that she never saw what became of her family.

__oOoOoOo__

As luck would have it however, Madame Death had not yet left Baker farm. As before, routine took hold, and the days were filled with lessons and chores for Hannah and Laura. That didn’t stop them from noticing the oddities of Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker.

On quite a few occasions, the twins would watch the men lead Linda away and into a locked room, where they would stay for an hour or so. And every once in a while, Hannah and Laura would see Mr. Kain or Mr. Baker with their hands in the woman’s blouse, or down her skirts, moving slowly.

What was even more disturbing however was that no one else seemed to see. It was as though the men were exceedingly careful about where they acted, but never noticed the twins. Which, in fact, was exactly what was happening.

By the end of the month, Hannah and Laura were quite used to the sight of Linda’s breasts and ass, and of the grotesque affections of the two men. It seemed though, that Linda wasn’t. She stopped eating whatever food wasn’t forced down, and she hardly slept. She didn’t wash her clothes, or brush her hair, and she never spoke.

If the twins were older, they would have seen it coming. But as it was, they were truly shocked when they came back to the lodge one afternoon, and found Linda hanging from the rafters by the neck.

Suicide. It was a new one. In their short lives, the twins had already been around murder, and natural death. It would seem they had now covered most bases. 

__oOoOoOo__

I never actually saw my parents bodies, nor that of old aunty Agnes; so although I had experienced death, Linda was the first time I had seen it. 

People say that the dead sometimes look like they’re sleeping, as though they could leap up at any moment. Linda didn’t look like that. She had died in pain, and it showed on her face.

I can’t help but blame Laura and I a little. We were so used to listening, that the idea of speaking was entirely foreign. And I wonder; had we simply told someone of what we saw, would Linda still be alive? In some respects, her death was the tipping of a dominoes piece.

My nightmares changed. It was no longer the giant ravenous spider looming over the farm, but Linda. Naked and broken necked, her belly bloated and showing the spinning forms of three fetuses. I wonder if Laura’s dreams were the same.


	5. Little Violin

Mr. Kain began giving Mary private lessons in his room. Henry passed it off as the twins and him being a distraction, but for once, Hannah and Laura knew better. Silence bit their tongues however, and they kept their opinions to themselves.

Mary seemed quite resilient to whatever was happening behind closed doors. But when Mr. Baker began sitting in on those private lessons, her spirit seemed to shatter, and she began to mimic the deceased Linda.

“Are you hungry?” Hannah asked.  
“…”  
“Or tired?” Continued Laura.  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“Do you want to go to the brook? We could get Mags to make us some sandwiches.”

But Mary just shook her head, and walked away.

They were near crippled with relief when Trevor approached them at the start of September, and confessed to them his suspicions. 

“They used to trap Linda in with them all the time, and now she’s dead. And I don’t like the idea of young Mary being stuck in there as well. Particularly if they’re doing what I think they are. In which case, there’s no part of hell cruel enough for them” He whispered, clutching his silver cross. “I know you’ve seen it. Made the same judgment. And I know Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker don’t notice you for some reason.” He continued, eyes piercing, “Please. I want to be wrong, but I know I can’t risk it. So please. Watch them. Note down every thing you can, and come back to me. Be my eyes, so I can do something.”

And the girls were more than happy to oblige. They took an empty notepad with them wherever they went, and as requested, noted down everything. When Mary’s lessons were – for they were quite random –, and how she seemed before vs. how she seemed after. The girls marked every lingering look, inappropriate touch, and everything they said - regardless of its relevance. 

And at the end of the day, Trevor would look over their notes with a growing frown.

__oOoOoOo__

We were like little detectives, following our suspects with wide eyes, safe in the knowledge that they would never notice us. But we became careless, as one could guess.

__oOoOoOo__

Hannah and Laura had decided to sneak up to the window while Mary was having a lesson. It was awkward, and dangerous, but the girls managed to climb up and balance next to the window frame, grateful that there was a vine-climbing frame along that side of the house.

When they looked in, they saw Mary, naked on the desk with her legs being held open, her father moving inside of her. Her 10-year-old body was being pushed back and forwards with his thrusts while Mr. Kain forced himself into her mouth.

Mary did not move herself, nor make any sound. She just laid there, eyes looking up at the roof. The men however, began to move faster and harder, their faces contorting in pure ecstasy. Mr. Baker grabbed the girl’s hips and roughly flipped her over before diving straight back in. He spread her cheeks and began to slap her. Mr. Kain smiled happily and delved deeper into Mary’s throat.

The twins just stood there, mouths open. They wanted to do something, to distract those giant men, and let little Mary escape. But would she? Lying there, under her father and her teacher, she seemed almost hollow. As though those men could cut her open with a blunt knife, and she wouldn’t even flinch.

Hannah and Laura had to do something, and their hearts began to pound. It was like a vale had been lifted, or a pair of heavy drapes opened. The twins suddenly found two pairs of eyes looking directly into theirs. And the message in those eyes made their blood freeze.

They had never run as fast in their lives. But it wasn’t to Trevor that they ran. At that moment they ran straight to the main house, up the stairs, and into the library where they knew Egraine would be. And when they did, they did what they should have done a long time ago, and told her everything:  
Of the dreams, and of Mags being chased by Mr. Baker at night, and seeing Linda in the barn, and of Linda everywhere else, of Trevor, of them spying for Trevor, and just now of Mary, sweet Mary, who seemed to edge closer to the rope with every passing day. And finally, of them being caught, and how they now feared the promise in those men’s eyes.

Egraine listened to it all. When they were done, the woman hastily led them to their rooms and shut the door. She was yet to speak, and instead pulled out a marker from her pocket, and began to draw; First on the door, strange symbols and writing, then again on the window, and finally around both beds, until her marker was dry.

“Listen to me,” She said and kneeled down. “You must never be alone with them. Always have someone else in line of sight. And never let them draw you out. They will not try anything if there is a chance of them being caught. Lord only knows how you two managed to catch them in the first place. Never get into a situation where they can order you into isolation. Hide if you must. Do you understand?”

The girls nodded slowly, fear marking their faces.

“I’ll see what I can do for Mary.”

That night, the girls woke to someone at their door. The knob turned and squeaked, but never opening. This went on for a while, the girls clutching each other and watching warily. Shortly after, the face of Mr. Baker appeared at their window. He shook it and banged the glass, but it too refused to budge.

“Hannah. Laura,” He cooed, “Come and open the window.”  
The girls hid further in their blankets.  
“I order you to open this window.”  
Hannah wrapped her arms around Laura protectively.

The man clenched his jaw and hit the glass. Nothing happened, and he gave up – for that night at least.


	6. Sewing

Trevor was gone. 

Mr. Baker informed everyone at breakfast with an appropriately solemn look. He handed his wife a folded piece of paper, and sat down to eat.

“I found that on his bed this morning,” He said, buttering a piece of toast. “Read it.”

Mrs. Baker pulled out her glasses and flipped the paper open, “To my friends of Baker Farm. With the death of my friends Linda, and of Aunty Agnes – both women I cherished and adored – I have decided that there is little left for me here. At this very moment I am readying for the long walk into town, where I will make my way to America. My hope is to follow my long-standing dream of being a writer. Yours faithfully, Trevor Williams.”

It’s astounding how much belief changes your actions. At that breakfast table, everyone was suspicious of Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker to varying amounts, but each believed themselves alone in their suspicions. Even the twins, who had just recently told Egraine everything they knew, felt isolated. Having it otherwise wouldn’t have helped though, as they were now just a group of women and children against two men. Usually bearable odds, but there was an aura around the two that promised pain for disagreement or rebellion.

The woman pursed her lips and placed the paper down. A sigh escaped her as she tilted her head.

“It seems we have lost yet another member of our dysfunctional little family.”  
In her own way, Mrs. Baker seemed truly saddened by this.

After their quiet meal, Hannah and Laura snuck into Trevor’s room and looked around. His clothes were gone, his bed made, and there was even a blank notepad that had indentations of the written letter. It truly looked as though the young man had left; abandoned them to whatever the farm had turned into. But something caught their eyes as they made to leave, a glinting from under the bed.  
Hannah leaned down and saw Trevor’s silver cross, attached to a snapped chain.   
The girl lifted it and showed her sister.

“I’ve never seen him without it.” Hannah said.  
“He said it was his mothers …”  
“He didn’t leave voluntarily then …”  
“Should we look for him?”  
“… I doubt we would find him. And we need to keep a low profile…”

Laura looked at the little cross and sighed.  
“I guess, he’s on his own then …”  
“I hope we’re wrong and he did leave for America …”

__oOoOoOo__

We kept on hearing Trevor’s voice in our sleep or when we were out in the garden. Our consciouses screaming at us for turning our backs. I now know that our searching would have been in vein, but the guilt still remains. Trevor did not deserve to be abandoned like that.

__oOoOoOo__

Mr. Baker started his game of cat and mouse with Mags again, only this time Mr. Kain played as well. She was fast though, and always won whether by making it to her room or by hiding somewhere else. 

A week of near to no sleep however, was taking its toll on the woman, and one evening she did the unexpected.  
“Girls…” She sighed, rubbing her eyes, “… I … would you mind if I slept in your room … while you two do your homework. I’m just so tired and …” 

And she truly must have been very tired, because she began to cry and fall to her knees. It took all the twins had to hall her up and into Hannah’s bed.

“We have to do something for once …” Laura mumbled  
“I don’t want to just watch, either.”  
“Alright!” Laura said determinedly, putting her long hair in a ponytail, “You stay here and watch her.”  
“What are you going to do?” Hannah whispered.  
“I’m going to get Egraine. She’ll have an idea. I don’t want Mags to become like Linda or Mary…”  
“Come back soon then.”

Laura nodded and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Hannah sighed and opened her Math’s notebook, determined to finish by the end of the day.

The twins were rarely apart, hardly ever in fact; so for Egraine to see one without the other was like seeing a horse without hair.  
“Laura? What is it?”

The girl looked awkwardly around and bounced on her toes.  
“Erm, well … you see … the think is …”  
“Just take me wherever you want me to go, and well move from there.” The woman sighed.

Laura nodded and grabbed the woman by her hand and led her back to Hannah and the sleeping Mags.  
By the time they made it back, Laura’s twin was pacing anxiously across the room, homework quite forgotten. 

“So,” Egraine raised a silver eyebrow, “what trouble have you two been seeping in this time, hum?”

And for the second time, the twins trusted Egraine enough to say. They showed her Trevor’s cross and told of where they found it. And of waking up every night to Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker chasing Mags, as though she were some lost sheep and they were wolves.

Towards the end of the confessions, Mags herself woke. She looked around bleary eyed and smiled when she saw Egraine.

“Grainey!” She slurred, clearly still half asleep, “I’ve been so scared …”

The woman fell to the floor and began to crawl, clutching at the elders skirts like a begging child.  
“I was so scared Grainey, and … and I had to sit in front of the door to stop them opening it. They keep,” Mags stopped and looked around suspiciously, “They keep trying to get me alone. I don’t want to be alone with them, Grainey. Please don’t let me be alone. The kitchen! Can you come to the kitchen with me? Do your work there instead.”

Hannah gently lifted the tired cook and coaxed her back into bed, leaving Egraine to her thoughts.

“Laura dear, stay and watch her for a minute will you. Hannah and I will be right back.”  
Hannah didn’t question, just followed the old woman out of the room, looking back only to nod at her twin. They walked down the stairs and across the living room to Mags’s bedroom.

“Grab all of her undergarments from that draw over there.” Egraine said, pulling a new pen from her pocket. Hannah did as she was asked while the woman covered the door, windows and floor in the strange symbols from before. When she was done, she ushered Hannah back to her own room.

“Now girls. I hope you’ve been practicing those embroidery technics I showed you, because that’s how we’re going to be spending our evening.”

Egraine ignored the skeptical looks and drew a small symbol on the wall and pulled out a miniature sewing box from her seemingly bottomless pocket. The twins didn’t ask why she carried around needles and threat with her, they knew better.

“We need to sew this to all of her underwear and brassieres I’m afraid.”

And that’s exactly what they did, and spent near 5 hours doing.

__oOoOoOo__

I was never any good at sewing. That was more Laura’s style. By the time I had finished 1, Egraine and her had done 3 each. But it was fun, in a bored housewife sort of way. Mags slept the entire time, sometimes snoring and sometimes talking, and at some point Egraine began to teach us silly rhymes and sayings.

I think the best thing however, was to actually be doing something. Neutrality helps the oppressor, and so up until then we had been helping Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker more than any other.

__oOoOoOo__

“Egraine,” Laura began, “How do you know all of this. I though you said you didn’t know magic?”  
“My husband. When we got married, there was a man – an evil man – trying to take over … everything. We didn’t know if we would survive; so one night – this was well after he pulled that stunt with my little stone, mind you – he sat me down and began to teach me what he called ancient runes. It’s just an old language you see, but when put in certain shapes and orders, can act as a spell of sorts. That fool spent hours teaching me as much as he could.”

“Could we do this for Mary?” Hannah whispered.

“No… . No I’m afraid not. You see,” Egrain pointed at the embroidered and marked symbols, “These markings stop one from been noticed, and stop evil from entering. But Mary has already been noticed, and her home tainted. There is nothing I can do for her apart from look out…”

“I see”


	7. She Takes Them In Two’s

__oOoOoOo__

I no longer think Mrs. Baker was aware of what was going on but at the time Laura and I had, as arguments between her and Mr. Baker were frequent and loud. It was because of this assumption that we didn’t think to tell her of what was happening under her roof. She was the sort of woman that disliked being told what she already knew, and a part of us thought that she was in on it. But it turns out they were arguing about hiring new hands, and financial difficulties.

I don’t know if Egraine or Mags ever said anything, or if perhaps they had come to the same conclusion as Laura and I.

__oOoOoOo__

Mr. and Mrs. Baker fought every day, and it didn’t matter where the 5 children of Baker Farm sat, they could always hear it. Mary didn’t much care, she didn’t care about anything anymore, but for Henry and Toby, it was quite distressing.

In the end, Egraine cancelled her classes for the time being and sent the children out each day with a basket of food, a ball, and some towels. Mags would accompany them when she could, to escape the chaos of the farm.   
This was not such a time.

Henry was leading them in exploring the hilly forestland with Toby riding his shoulders. The sun was rising to its highest point and warm beams filtered down through the open canopies. With the moss covered trees and small ponds, they looked to be in the set of a fairytale. 

Hannah and Laura pulled the group to a stop when they saw a large rock bathing in sunlight. It was the perfect place to sit and eat, and it was about lunchtime anyway.

Henry climbed up first, making it in two steps, before pulling up his little brother. The rock was long and not as flat as it appeared, stemming off like tree roots at the back. But they stayed anyway, enjoying the sunshine. 

“Old aunty Agnes said a witch lived over there.” Mary said suddenly. Her voice was quiet and clearly only the twins were meant to hear.

They were so shocked at her speaking that they didn’t reply. Mary hadn’t spoken in a long time, and certainly not since the twins spied in on her lesson. Hannah and Laura could hardly look at the girl for days, shame burning in their bellies.

Mary was pointing to a short mountain in the distance with three points, an unreadable expression on her face.  
“She said that the witch was once a golden snake that fell in love with the moon, and kept shedding its skin to give as gifts. But she shed so much that all that was left were her bones.” Mary was gesturing slightly, an old habit from before, “A faerie was watching from the trees and took pity on the gold snake and turned her into a witch. Showed her how to dance the moons favorite dances, and make the stars shine brighter.”

The twins looked at the mountain, then back to Mary.  
“Is she still there?” Hannah asked.  
“Who knows,” Mary laughed – and that shocked the twins most of all, “half of what aunty Angus said was made up. It’s probably not even a real story.”

Mary turned away and began to eat her apple, effectively finishing the conversation. The twins didn’t try to break the silence, entertaining themselves instead by watching Toby try to braid Henry’s short hair. 

They stayed there for a while, the children remaining in their separate segments. Hannah and Laura, seeing that the two boys were quite happy, decided to take a brief nap. Leaning back with their arms joined and legs winding, the twins closed their eyes and let their imaginations reign.

“Laura, Hannah,” Henry said, breaking the silence, “Have you seen Mary?”

Hannah groaned and sat up, “She’s just over…”

Mary was no longer seated where she had talked to the twins. The only trace that she had been there at all was the apple core.

“She was just there a minute ago …”  
The girls stood and looked around.

“Mary.” Henry called. When no response came, he tried again. “Mary!”

__oOoOoOo__

We failed Mary on every turn. When we didn’t tell her about Linda, when we didn’t warn her about Mr. Kain, when we did nothing about her private lessons, when we stopped trying to talk to her. At every stage, we failed her, and that is a guilt I shall carry with me to my grave. 

We could blame our age, being only 9 at the time, but Laura and I new better. We were cowards, and our cowardice reaped a steep cost. 

__oOoOoOo__

For three months they searched. Sweeping the forest and up to that three pointed mountain. Even Mr. Baker and Mr. Kain joined the police and other adults for hours at a time. For three months, Hannah and Laura watched Mrs. Baker bite away her perfect nails while watching out the window. And after three months, Mary Isabel Baker was pronounced dead.

Mrs. Baker spent that day sitting at the lodge’s dining table while Egraine made her tea and sat quietly with her. Neither spoke and the twins felt like intruders each time they past, so they resolved to stay in their rooms.

The day passed slowly and the twins spent it sitting on their beds, studying Egraine’s runes. When night fell, Hannah and Laura dressed in their nightgowns and attempted to sleep. Having missed two meals however made their stomachs ache.   
When it was clear sleep would not come until they had something to eat, Hannah sat up and grumbled.

“I’m going to go down and sneak some apples.” She said. There wasn’t any real need to sneak, but the night belonged to Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker, and this night was overshadowed with loss.  
Laura nodded and sat up, while her sister crept out and down the stairs.

The lodge was dark with everyone having gone to bed, and Hannah had to move slowly so she wouldn’t trip. The fruit basket was in the center if the large table, but when Hannah reached in, her hand found emptiness. Sighing, the girl felt her way to the small pantry.  
Suddenly the front door opened and Hannah heard Mr. Kain enter. She pressed herself into the wall and used her long black hair as a curtain, trying to cover her pale skin. 

The man hanged his coat on the stand and tapped his shoes. The young girl held her breath and hoped he would not come into the kitchen, but would go strait to his room. When he turned towards her however, she knew she had to hide.

Quietly shuffling along the floor, Hannah managed to duck into the pantry cupboard and close the door slightly, just in time for Mr. Kain to turn on the light. He put on the kettle and grabbed some biscuits Mags had made that morning. 

Hannah’s quiet breathing was becoming hard, each breath not giving her enough oxygen, but she did not want to be caught. Not alone in the kitchen, and certainly not by Mr. Kain. He may have stopped trying to get into her room, but the unspoken threat was still un-acted upon.  
The sound of pouring water and clunking pottery filled the kitchen, then the sounds of rustling paper. Hannah feared she would be stuck for a while and hoped Laura wouldn’t come looking.

A hand grabbed Hannah’s ankle, hard enough to bruise, and dragged her out of the pantry. Mr. Kain didn’t speak as he lifted her up and slammed her kicking form on the table.

Before she could process what was happening, the man was ripping off her nightgown with one hand and opening his pants with the other. When Hannah began to kick and squirm, Mr. Kain punched her stomach and ripped harder, stripping her in a manner of seconds.

A wave of terror filled her mind when he pulled his penis out and lined it up. He got no further however, as a sudden invisible force landed him in the floor. Hannah did not wait, and bolted towards the stairs. Mr. Kain was right behind her, tripping her and making her crawl up the old wood. His hands grabbed at her, trying to hold her down.  
He managed to get on top of her, pressing her face into the stair. He lined up again and this time he began to press against her entry. He failed again however, when a second force pushed him away, giving Hannah enough time to burst into her room and slam the door shut.

Laura leaped away from the door – as she was about to run out due to all of the noise – and watched her puffing sister. The door began to bang loudly as Mr. Kain hit it from the other side, knowing he wouldn’t get in but wanting to scare the girls. 

Something had happened, but it had only been another centimeter from being much worse. And if that had happened, Hannah realized, the runes would no longer work and she would become like Mary. Her and Laura both.

Laura didn’t ask. It was quite obvious what had nearly transpired, so instead she pulled her twin up and lay with her under their blankets, holding her close and stroking her hair. Hannah did not sleep that night, so she saw when Mrs. Baker left the main house. 

The woman was naked, her pale skin shining in the moonlight as she walked towards the forest and vanished into the darkness.  
Had she not just been attacked, the girl may have chased after the woman. But as it was, Hannah just looked away and shifted closer to her twin. 

__oOoOoOo__

The next morning, Mrs. Baker was found in the stream having drowned herself. She had trapped her long hair under a rock, preventing herself from rising to the surface while unconscious.  
Around her neck was Auntie Agnes’s sugar necklace, and downstream they found a halter that had belonged to Mary’s horse.

They buried Mary and her mother next to aunty Agnes, and their funerals were short. Henry didn’t leave the house for a week, so Hannah and Laura had to look after Toby.


	8. Augustus Quain

The first Monday after the funeral, Mr. Baker went into town and brought back with him a stranger with a single suitcase. The remaining seven members of the household –including Mr. Kain – were asked to wait on the front porch to be introduced.

“This,” Mr. Baker said, “Is Mr. Augustus Quain. He will be your new head of staff following the tragic death of my wife. I trust you will show him respect.”

Augustus was tall and willowy, with dour eyes and a pointed nose. A part of Hannah wanted to throw sugar at the man, to see if he would stoop to count every grain. His long neck and bald head were covered by a wide brimmed hat, and his spidery fingers hidden in gloves. 

When the group disbursed, Augustus seemed to glide over to the twins and looked down at them without bending.  
“You,” He said, his voice sharp, “Must be Hannah and Laura.”

The girls nodded and shuffled closer to each other, uncomfortable under the stranger’s scrutiny.

“Troublemakers I’ve been told. Untamable. Meet me in my study in half an hour.”  
“Your study?” Hannah asked.  
“Across from the library, I believe.” He said as he turned to leave.  
“But that’s Egrain’s!”  
“Not any more.”

The girls growled and ran to the lodge. Mags and Egraine were sitting in the kitchen, muttering into their cups of tea.  
Surprisingly, Henry and Toby followed right behind the girls, and they joined the women at the table.

“What’s going on around here?” Henry asked and dropped his head.  
“Who knows. But that Mr. Quain creeps me out.” Mags replied.  
“He wants us too meet him in your study soon.”  
“His study now, I’m afraid.” Egrain said shorty.  
“That’s not fair.” Laura mumbled

There was a long silence filled with the occasional sighs and sips of tea, when Mags stood up.

“Come on girls, I’ll walk you over.”

Augustus had managed to change the room entirely in the thirty odd minutes he was in it. It was no longer a kind room for the purpose of study, but the baron office of an un-liked boss.

Egraine had already removed all of her personal effects that morning and organized them in her bedroom, and the man had shifted the desk to be in front of the window. He watched the twins enter from his seat there, reminding them of a vulture.

“Now,” He began to speak as soon as the door shut, “I understand that Mrs. Filch has been teaching you her normal classes along with young Henry. Is that correct?”

The girls nodded.

“From now you will no longer be attending those classes. With the loss of staff on this farm, you will be completing the now open jobs.”  
“But –” Hannah tried to interrupt.  
“But nothing. Servants have no need for algebra or Shakespeare. You follow the orders I or the master of the house give you. Do I make myself clear?”  
“Yes sir …” The twins replied.

The man nodded and pulled a piece of paper from the desk, passing it to Laura in one motion.

“Your new timetable. At 05.00, you will feed the cows, the horses and the sheep. You will then assist Miss Rowan in the kitchen. At 10.00, you will sweep the house, make the beds, collect and wash the laundry, and open the bedroom windows. Then at 16.30, you will assist Miss Rowan in the kitchen again. On Wednesdays, and Saturdays, after supper you will polish the silver and dust the library. You will also be expected to complete any extra assigned task.”

Ironically, there was nothing on the list that the girls didn’t do already, but before, the general cleaning was shared and not done everyday. 

“Now. If I am not mistaken, you have an hour until you are needed in the kitchens. I suggest you use that time to organise your new wardrobe.”  
“Our new wardrobe?” Hannah asked, but the man was finished talking, and ignored them for writing in a large book.

The girls went back to the lodge, and met Egraine at their bedroom door. The woman had an unpleased expression and arms crossed, as she opened their door and lead them in.

“Those,” she said, pointing to the bed, “Are your new clothes. That great lump wants you to wear them everyday.”

The girls picked up the black dresses and raised their eyebrows. They had two with long sleeves and two with short. All falling to their mid calf and were utterly shapeless. Next to them were long white aprons with large pockets and thick black stockings. Then down on the floor, both girls had a pair of brown penny loafers.

“How old fashioned.” Laura sighed.

Egraine pulled out her small sewing kit and laid it on the table.

“I want you two to embroider in the rune we did for Mags. Make it small and on the inside hem of your aprons. But not now. Tonight. For now I think you had better get dressed.”

The hardest thing to adjust to was how Augustus seemed to always be watching. Nothing happened without his knowing. Laura and Hannah tried to prank him numerous times in the following weeks, but he avoided them all. They could almost respect his evasiveness, if he hadn’t been quite so creepy.

The twins weren’t the only ones with tightened leashes either though. Egraine’s curriculum was replaced with Augustus’s and she was forbidden from teaching poetry or art. Henry and Toby were forced to spend all their time outside of class in the library, studying or doing nothing at all.

Mags begin carrying a knife with her everywhere; a small paring knife that she kept in her aprons pocket. The twins saw her readjusting it when they were in the kitchen together. They didn’t ask about it.

Mr. Kain moved into the main house and took Egraine’s room, putting her in the lodge. This was a day of great happiness for Mags and the twins, as the place was finally filled with only safe people. 

The next night, while Egraine was reading by the fire, Henry and Toby walked in with pillows and clothes.  
“Can we stay here? We’ll sleep on the floor if we have to,” the elder boy sighed, looking at the females imploringly, “The house is too creepy, and Toby’s been having nightmares. Father spends all his time in his room, and I don’t know what to do …”

As the girls shared a bed anyway, and the beds were large enough, the two boys would share the second in the twins’ bedroom. 

__oOoOoOo__

The children woke to a frantic knocking downstairs. Creeping open the door, they looked down and saw Augustus ratting on Mags’s door. When the woman opened up slightly, he whispered urgently in her ear. The door closed and opened again a moment later with Mags running out, wrapping a dressing gown around her body. In an instant, the two were out the door and gone.

Mags never came back, and for the remainder of the week neither Mr. Baker, Mr. Kain nor Augustus ever left the house. Egraine marked every window and the main doors in the lodge with runes and dragged their mattresses out to the lounge room and slept in a pile. Hannah and Laura would wake up and feed the animals, but would then run back to their sanctuary.

Henry, it seemed, had finally broken under the pressure. His entire life was crumbling around him, and he spent all day at the large wooden table, tracing the wood grain with his fingers.


	9. December 28, 1989

The lodge was on fire. 

Hannah woke first, coughing with gasping breaths. The lounge room was filled with smoke as the kitchen and upstairs burned. 

“Get up!” She yelled, “Get up NOW!”

The other four leaped to their feet and looked around. Egraine picked Toby up quickly and began to hustle the others to the door. A support beam fell in front of them and crushed onto Hannah’s foot. The girl screamed in pain as the fire burned her skin. Henry pulled her back and lifted her up into his arms. He wasn’t particularly strong, but Hannah wasn’t all that heavy either.

“This way.” Laura yelled, pointing to a part of the kitchen where the wall had caved in. The group ran, their clothes catching fire, until they were out in the night air.  
They rolled in the grass or ripped their clothes off, extinguishing the remaining flames. 

Hannah’s foot was numb, the nerves damaged, and her muscles twitching. But she was busy watching her home being turned into ash and cinders.

“You survived,” Came a cool voice, “Good, It would have been more of a hassle otherwise.”

In an instant, all five fell to the floor unconscious.

__oOoOoOo__

When Hannah woke up, she was lying on her stomach in semi-darkness, Laura at her side, and she couldn’t help think of when they had been kidnapped five years ago. This time though, she wasn’t tied up.

Laura was already awake and helped her twin sit up. They were naked and covered in dirt with their long hair weaving around their legs and getting stuck under their bottoms. With both relief and confusion, Hannah noted that her foot had already completely healed, leaving behind only a faint scar that reminded her of lightning.

The twins were in a cage barely large enough to fit them, and covered in rust. Before them was a long stone table lifted up by two steps and beyond was a statue, masked by shadow. Neither Hannah nor Laura could see the subject, except for the long elegant arms that reached out. 

Beneath the table though, and only an arms width away were the remains of Mags and Trevor, as well as three strangers. While the others were mostly bone, Mags lay there with hollow eyes and grey skin. The stink burned Hannah and Laura’s eyes, and the sight of maggots in the cooks open stomach made them want to vomit.

The twins turned away and began to look around the room, trying to distract themselves. Next to them on the right was another cage containing a naked Henry and Toby. Toby was hugging his brother so tight Hannah feared he might crack a rib. Then, to their left, Egraine was bound tightly to a shelf beam that was covered in old garlic and dead herbs. They were in the basement then.

“Egraine?” Hannah whispered. The old woman looked over slowly and frowned. Her long silver hair fell over her breasts and covered most of her torso, but Hannah could tell that she was cold. 

The woman began to move her mouth around a bit before spitting something down at her feet, making a small pitter-patter as it bounced slightly. 

The sound of heavy feet filled the room and Egraine kicked whatever it was along to Hannah. Without hesitating, she reached out and grabbed it, hiding it in her hand just in time for a door to open. She didn’t try to look at what it was. 

Mr. Kain, Mr. Baker and Augustus entered the gloom and with them they brought a small leather bag and two lit lanterns, which they hanged on the hands of the statue. The resulting light finally allowed the twins to glimpse the ceramic person. 

They were beautiful, standing in imitation of mother Mary, only instead of a halo there were three hexagons encircling their head. Their eyes were closed and face relaxed, seeming to be in complete bliss. A great contrast to the room it was placed in.

Augustus walked over to Egraine and grabbed one of her breasts in a gloved hand.

“So old,” He said and pinched her nipple, “There’s hardly any meat on you. I imagine no milk will ever come out of these again.”

The woman winced, her eyes filling steadily with hate. Mr. Baker reached into the leather bag and pulled out an ornate silver blade, which he used to cut the old woman free.

Laura and Hannah held onto each other as they watched Egrane be dragged over to the long table.

__oOoOoOo__

She looked so frail there, naked and between stone arms. Somehow though, I didn’t believe anything could happen to her. Trough all the tragedy that we had already gone through, she had faced it all calmly and quietly.

She didn’t even scream when Mr. Baker jammed the knife into her stomach, over and over. He kept going until her small body was covered in blood and she was pushed onto the floor, next to Mags. 

I remember Toby screaming from his brother’s arms, the sound filling the room quite easily.

__oOoOoOo__

Egraine’s blood pooled around her and leaked into Hannah and Laura’s cage. They shuffled back and curled up, trying to avoid touching the liquid. They heard a faint trickling sound, and noticed that the blood was being slowly drained into slits under the table’s stairs. 

Mr. Kain opened Henry’s cage and pulled out Toby, closing the door immediately behind. Henry screamed and began kicking the cage. His legs began making dents in the metal, and a few of the rusted bars began to snap off. 

In an instant, Augustus was there, a hand wrapped around the boy’s throat through the bars. Henry seemed to struggle against something before he fell to the floor as though bound by invisible ropes. 

“Now you,” The spidery man turned to Toby, “are too young. Some things not quite up and running yet.”

The child was placed on the table, where Egraine had been just minutes ago, and forced to lie down.

“But still useful.”

Hannah and Laura looked away as the boy began to cry, and they held each other when his cries were suddenly silenced.

“Get the other” Augustus said, and immediately after, Henry was pulled from the cage by his father. 

The boy was, like the others, dragged to the table; only he was not placed on top. Instead his hands were bound to the statue by the invisible ties, so that his naked hips were pressing against the tabletop.  
Mr. Kain began to rearrange Toby’s corpse, who was still on the table. Henry began to struggle, but with each movement the invisible restraints grew tighter. Finally, the dead child was placed underneath his brother with his little legs hanging off the edge.  
Augustus grabbed Henry’s bottom and pushed the older boy inside the younger, until hip met hip.

“You however, will be perfect.” The spidery man said before walking over to a corner and leaning on the wall.

Mr. Baker stood behind Henry and lowered his pants. In an instant, he had pushed himself inside his son and had begun to rock back and forth. Blood leaked down the boys shaking legs as the thrusting forced Henry to move inside his dead brother.

The room was filled with gasps and huffs as the two ejaculated mutable times. After a while, Mr. Baker swapped with Mr. Kain, then back again. The men didn’t stop when Henry collapsed onto Toby’s body, or when his legs buckled. They simply held him up and continued.

Throughout, Hannah and Laura had tried to use their magic to break out of the cage. However, every time they managed to create some slight force, it would rebound and hit them instead.

Finally, after hours, with the girls beaten by their own magic and the men exhausted, Henry was dropped. He fell back and landed in front of Laura, his eyes blank and heart still.

The twins held each other close when Augustus walked to their cage. The door opened and those spidery hands grabbed Hannah, and pulled her out. Before he could close up again however, Laura had grabbed her sister’s hand and was trying to pull her back.

The game of tug-of-war continued for a minute before Laura was also out of the cage. She hadn’t yet let go and Augustus was losing patience.

“We only need one of the witches.” He said. Mr. Kain was suddenly behind Laura with the silver blade and struck it down. Her head hit the floor before her body, and it rolled over to the wall.

Hannah’s head began to swim, the room turning in her eyes. She kept on slipping on blood and grime before Augustus dropped her next to Toby. She looked over at the boys face and looked at were his throat had been slit. There was blood and semen in her hair from the table and the girl began to shake violently.

Mr. Baker approached with the knife in one hand and his penis in the other, but he slipped on the gore and fell to his knees. Before he could collect himself, the knife was wrenched from his hands and imbedded into his throat, not by Hannah but by Egraine, who had somehow not yet succumbed to her stomach wounds. 

Hannah’s mind fizzed and suddenly she had ahold of the silver blade and was impaling Augustus through his bald head. Mr. Kain was ripping her away, but a force – much like on the night he tried to rape her – pushed him away. The girl was on top of him instantly and began to slash at his chest and face, stabbing him over and over until she screamed and threw the knife away.

She didn’t stop screaming until Egraine was there and opening her hand. 

“Don’t drop it again,” She muttered, pressing the stone her husband had stolen into her hands, and then crumpled to the floor. 

Egraine was dead, Henry was dead, Toby was dead. And Mags, and Trever, Mary, Mrs. Baker, aunty Agnes, as well as Augustus, Mr. Baker, Mr. Kain. And Laura. All dead. Laura was dead. Her head was in the corner looking up at the roof. 

A burning hit Hannah’s stomach as lines and symbols began to knit themselves around her navel. The lines joined and twisted until they stopped at her sternum. 

In the corner of her eyes, she saw something shift. When she looked over, her eyes fell on the statue. It was no longer posed and dressed as a saint, but was clad in spiked armor. They were holding the lanterns higher up and illuminating their open and three irised eyes. Hannah began to scream again.

Something in Hannah’s mind wedged. She began to drag the bodies out of the basement, not noticing that they should have been too heavy for her, and laid them on the grass.  
She left Augustus inside however, when she closed locked the basement door.

Hannah was in a daze as she dug 11 shallow graves. She stopped only to cover her nakedness in a nightgown, Egraine’s stone held in its pocket.

When the graves were dug and the people buried, she dropped a flower on each, even Mr. Kain’s and Mr. Baker’s. They had been kind once.

The girl then lit a single match from the main kitchen, and dropped it onto the carpet. The effect was instantaneous. Helped along by Hannah’s chaotic magic, the whole house was engulfed in flames in a few minutes, no fire touching the young witch, however. 

The girl then lifted her head and left Baker farm, not even stopping at Laura’s grave.

__oOoOoOo__

I remember wandering. I don’t know what I ate or if I slept, but I eventually found myself back at Godric's Hollow. My old family home was gone. It had been knocked down. A memory of an old woman past the church hit me, but I had no interest in it.

Somehow, I found my way to London. Egraine had lived there once, and Laura had always wanted to visit. I don’t recall, but that must have been why I was there. I don’t remember much of the following year, blurred as it was among countless nightmares and day-terrors.


	10. Professor Snape

Hannah spent most of 1990 is a back alley somewhere in London. There was a local thug gang that – out of either mild pity or a need for eyes – paid the young witch £5 a week to act as their alarm, watching their poorly painted green door and yelling at any suspicions persons. Not that she was ever needed however.

There was a convenience store down the street that Hannah would go to occasionally, but less often than she should have. And so, as the months passed, she turned more skeletal and sickly. Her hair tangled into a single mass filled with dirt and fleas that matched her mud-covered skin. And while summer brought dehydration, the coldest parts of winter blackened the flesh on her hands and feet, making them numb and stiff.

The gang members claimed frostbite. They expected her to be long dead come spring, but she wasn’t. By the time the first spring storm had arrived, the dead flesh had somehow rejuvenated itself. And while each of her ribs remained visible, no other sign of malnourishment appeared despite how little she continued to eat. Not that Hannah would notice such a thing in order to complain or sigh in relief. She was yet to emerge fully from her own mind, with collecting food deriving mostly from her magic not wanting her to die. Her mana was under constant strain, purging illness from her body before it could cause serious harm and slowing her metabolism to an unnatural pace. So much was the strain that her magic could only be picked up by sensors on the full moons of each month. 

It was because of this unfortunate circumstance that when the Hogwarts acceptance letters were sent out, none of the owls could find Hannah in order to deliver hers. 

__oOoOoOo__

Hannah was turning Egraine’s stone in her hand, marveling as the morning light made it shimmer and ignoring the loud shouts and cries leaking from the green door. The gang was arguing amongst themselves again, and would most likely disband by then end of the season.

“Excuse me.” Came a deep voice. Hannah didn’t hear it however, engrossed as she was, and continued to spin the stone.

“Excuse me.” Was said again as the man knelt down in front of the girl, his long black coat dragging on the floor.

Hannah looked up and into the darkest eyes she had ever seen, failing to find where the iris and pupil separated.

“Are you Hannah Potter?”

Hannah wasn’t quite sure for a moment, she hadn’t thought about it in a year, but eventually she nodded and tucked in her legs. The stranger reached into a pocket and pulled out a thick cream envelope, handing in over slowly. 

“You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Do you know what that means?”

Hannah nodded and opened the seal. The man waited patiently as she read through the pages, and clarified when needed. Eventually though, Hannah returned the letter and shook her head.

“I want to go, but the tuition is too expensive, … and the money for supplies...”

The man stood and popped his back, “There is a student loan that you are eligible for. The ministry of magic will cover your tuition entirely, and the school will provide all school supplies.”

“What’s the catch?” Hannah asked.

“The catch,” He said amusedly with a raised eyebrow, “Is that you are required to pass all of your subjects, and that should you be expelled or suspended more than 2 times, you will need to repay the loan entirely. Otherwise, you are only required to repay 30%.

Hannah didn’t quite understand, she was too tired, but she understood it was a good deal.

“How do I get the loan?” She asked, a small flicker of hope in her chest.

“You already have it. I was sent here to buy your school supplies, should you accept the position at Hogwarts.” The man crossed his arms and looked at Hannah expectantly.

“I would like to go…”

The man nodded and helped the girl up, wrapping his coat around her, not once cringing at her foul smell and appearance.

“My name is Professor Snape, and I will be your potions Professor.”  
“It’s nice to meet you, Professor. …Thank you.”

__oOoOoOo__

That was my first clear memory since I left the farm. I probably shouldn’t have gone with Professor Snape so easily, but it worked out well regardless.

__oOoOoOo__

Professor Snape pulled out his wand and flicked it sharply. A loud honk filled the air and Hannah gasped as a double-decker red bus raced around a near corner and halted before them with a snap. A lanky young man stepped out and greeted them, his mouth twisting strangely.

“Morsmordre.” Professor Snape said in greeting.  
“Morsmordre.” The man said in reply and stepped aside.

Gently, Professor Snape guided Hannah onto the magical bus and onto a queen size bed. The girl fussed for a moment and wiggled around before finding a comfortable perch at the very edge, dangling her feet over the side and slouching her back.

“Take it away Ern !” Was shouted, and the bus took off. Hannah was glad she was sitting, as the momentum pushed the bed several meters back. Professor Snape seemed unfazed however, and moved to sit in a small lounge chair.

“I am first taking you to my home of sorts, to get you cleaned and fed. Is that all right?”

Hannah nodded absentmindedly while looking around.

“You should get some sleep then.” Professor Snape said, crossing his legs and pulling a small book from a pocket in his robe. 

An image of being 6, and waking up tied in the back of a wagon appeared, and Hannah shook her head. The man had been kind, but she still didn’t know him. Professor Snape seemed unoffended, and opened to a random page and began to read.

__oOoOoOo__

Hannah ended up falling asleep anyway, and found herself being shaken awake by Professor Snape an hour later.

“Come on now. We are here. You must get up now.”

Hannah stood up and wobbled tiredly, glad when the man steadied her with an arm around the shoulder. The two walked to the door, and Professor Snape nodded at the young lanky man in farewell.

They stepped out in front of a large cast iron gate bordered by two large stone gargoyles. Professor Snape pulled out his want and held it up, putting it away again when the gate unlocked and opened.

As they passed, Hannah looked on at the long cobblestone path and the grandiose manor beyond.

“You live hear?” The girl asked, looking at the apple orchid and flower gardens.  
“It’s complicated, and something I am in no mind to explain at present.”

As they approached a set of large white stairs, also guarded by gargoyles, the manors main doors opened and revealed two men dressed in green and black.

“Severus,” One with long white hair greeted, arms wide. “We weren’t expecting you for a few days. And who is this lovely lady?”

The man bowed at the waist, grabbed Hannah’s dirty hand, and kissed her knuckles. She blushed in embarrassment and turned her head.

“Lucius, meet Hannah Potter. She’ll be joining your son in Hogwarts this year. Hannah, meet Lucius Malfoy, head of the noble house of Malfoy.”

“Charmed.” Mr. Malfoy said with a smile. Hannah nodded slightly and shuffled her feet.

“But what are you doing here?” The other man asked, approaching lazily.   
“I was hoping to get young miss Potter cleaned and fed before dragging her through Diagon alley.” Severus replied, “I was also hoping you would allow her to stay here for the time being.”

The stranger looked at Hannah and kneeled down.  
“My name is Tom Marvolo Gaunt, or Professor Gaunt. This is my home, Cerrig Gorffwys. If Severus has brought you here, then you are welcome. If that is what you wish.”

Hannah looked into Professor Gaunt’s red eyes and nodded slowly, her eyebrows furrowed.  
“This has all happened really fast, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all some joke. But I’ll take what I can, for as long as I can.”

Mr. Malfoy laughed and shook his head, “Aren’t you honest.”

__oOoOoOo__

Mrs Narcissa Malfoy, whom Severus had introduced in the foyer, led Hannah up stairs and down corridors. The woman was humming a quiet tune as she looked over the girl’s skin and hair, occasionally interrupting her song with a huff or click. 

They stopped and Mrs. Malfoy opened a plain wooden door, ushering Hannah through. Inside the girl found a suite of rooms with polished wooden floors and white walls. A bedroom to the left, a bathroom to the right, and a small sitting room before them. 

“Come dear. Let us clean you up, and then we shall see what we can do about your hair.” The woman said. She pulled out a wand from her silver embroidered sleeve and flicked it at a claw-foot bath, instantly filling it.

__oOoOoOo__

Mrs. Malfoy was patient and gentle, slowly wiping away a years worth of street grot from my skin. The bathwater had to be changed a few times, and near two bottles of shampoo emptied.

She tried quite hard to save my hair, but the knots, lice, dry scalp, and layers of grime had damaged and split the strands.

When I was clean, Mrs. Malfoy wrapped me in a fluffy towel that smelled like lavender, and sat me by the window. She called out a funny name, and then there was this creature in the room with us. I now know he was an elf, but you can imagine my surprise.

__oOoOoOo__

Hannah watched Dobby from the corner of her eyes as the small elf rummaged around in drawers and cupboards, pulling out and scrutinizing various clothing items. 

Mrs. Malfoy had pulled out a pair of long golden scissors from the bathroom and was gently maneuvering Hannah’s head forwards. The sound of snips and falling hair filled the rooms. Hannah was feeling more anxious by the minute, wanting nothing more than to clutch her remaining hair and run. She didn’t, just sat instead with her hands clenched and focusing on the noise Dobby was making.

“There,” Mrs. Malfoy said after a while, “Now you’re the most beautiful young lady around.”

Hannah reached up and bit her lip at how short is was, her shoulders lifting self-consciously.

“I know you would have preferred to have kept your long hair,” The woman said, moving in front of Hannah and holding her knees, “But it is better this way. It will grow back healthier and stronger now. Just give it time.”

Hannah nodded and followed the woman over to the elf, who helped the girl into a cute dress that he had picked. He had surprisingly normal taste.


	11. Echoes

Hannah wasn’t given a chance to see what she looked like before Professor Snape came and whisked her away, and took her to meet with Mr. Malfoy and his son in front of a large ornate fireplace. Draco, as Hannah was introduced, took the girls hand and led her onto the hearth before taking a handful of grey powder.

“Diagon Ally.” He shouted, and threw the powder down. Hannah squeaked when they were enveloped in cold flame, and closed her eyes tight. The boy then began to walk forwards, leading Hannah along, and stepped out into cool air.

“I probably should have warned you. I apologize.” Professor Snape said from behind. Hannah snapped her head up and looked in awe at the bustling market they were now standing in.

“Welcome to Diagon Ally.” Mr. Malfoy said.

The group moved from shop to shop, buying strange things from a list in Professor Snape’s hand. Sometimes, Hannah and Draco were left in shops alone for a time; when they were being fitted for clothes, or when the two adults had to go into a poisonous ingredients shop. During those times, Hannah grew to dislike the blonde boy more and more. 

“…I think I would just die if I was put into Hufflepuff. I mean, the shame.” He continued. Hannah had long since tuned him out knowing whatever he said would simply irritate her. Draco quieted instantly when his father and god-father returned however, something the girl was thankful for. 

“One last stop before we go home.” Professor Snape said, and led the way to a large owl emporium. Draco, who was near squealing in joy, was taken ahead by his father.

“An owl?” Hannah asked.  
“Every Witch and Wizard should have a loyal familiar, and an owl can take your mail for you. Most practical”  
“Does the student loan cover this?”  
“Well … no,” Professor Snape said awkwardly, “consider it a welcoming gift.”  
“But -”  
“Now none of that. I wish to do this for you, and an owl is hardly an extravagant expense.”

The two then joined the Malfoys inside to begin the process of being picked by an owl – or in Draco’s case, an Australian wood duck-maned goose that was quite far from home. Draco was not amused.

__oOoOoOo__

Professor Snape’s actions confused me greatly, so much so that I half expected him to use the bird as some sort of leverage over me. He didn’t, but the thought was there, and I regret that I treated him with slight suspicion for quite a while because of it.

I grew attached to the owl herself quite quickly. She had these mannerisms that were quite motherly, and unusually comforting. I named her Hedwig, not because I thought it would be a good name, but because a part of me knew that that was already her name. Strange, isn’t it?

__oOoOoOo__

Hannah’s sudden transition into a whole new life had gone remarkably well. Luck had kissed her it seemed, and a slight absence of mind had allowed the girl to remain calm, but luck always comes and goes.

With her new school items, wand and owl friend, Hannah was left alone in the suit of rooms – her rooms, Professor Gaunt had said – that she had been in earlier that day. The girl organized the items in the middle sitting room before racing to the bathroom. 

She hadn’t seen her reflection in a year, and when she finally did, a vise seemed to clench on her heart. She reached up and felt her short hair, then her cheek, then eyes and mouth.

“I want to cut my hair.”   
“What? Why?”  
“Don’t you think it would look cool? It’s really fashionable too. Though I don’t think I like the bigness.”  
“But you have such nice hair now.”  
“I know, but don’t you think a bob or a pixie cut would be cute? I need a change. Maybe I can get one on our next birthday?”

Echoes of the conversation rang in the girl’s ears and she found herself forgetting who was who, and whether she was Hannah or Laura. She stood there for a long while, her breaths coming in loud gasps. And there she stayed, for an hour or two; so long that Professor Gaunt had come to retrieve her for dinner.

“Miss Potter?” He called, looking around.

The man approached and opened the bathroom door completely and watched the girl closely. Her breath’s still loud, and when combined with her pale face and wide eyes, it created an alarming image.

“Miss Potter, are you quite well?” He asked, reaching out and touching her wrist lightly. 

Hannah whipped around and screamed, as it was not Professor Gaunt in the bathroom that she was seeing, but Augustus down in that dark basement. She had the cursed knife in her hand and began to strike down on the man before her.

Professor Gaunt wasn’t prepared for the sudden attack and fell to the floor with the young girl beating him in the chest. He was immensely grateful that her hands were empty, and that whatever blade she though she had was nowhere near.

In an instant, he whipped out his wand and knocked the child out, catching her before her head hid the ground.

“Dobby,” He called loudly and the elf appeared as Professor Gaunt lifted Hannah into his arms. “Go tell Severus to come here immediately.”

Dobby popped away. The wizard opened the bedroom door with his foot and began to tuck the child under layers of sheets and blankets. She was deep in sleep, completely relaxed, her mind void of dreams or terrors. The sound of heavy feet came as Severus burst into the room and raced over to the two.

“What happened?”

“She attacked me, though her mind was elsewhere. I had to knock her out.”

“I suppose something was bound to happen. She was slightly absent when I found her this morning. She had been taking her sudden change of circumstance so well.” Professor Snape knelt down and adjusted the blankets slightly.

“What will you have me do, my lord?” He said.  
“Nothing,” Professor Gaunt replied, crossing his arms, “I gave her welcome, and I’m not receding that offer. She needs help, though I’m not sure what kind. You and I will watch her in Hogwarts.”  
“ … Thank you”  
“Yes, yes. I’m amazing, the new Mother Teresa. ”

__oOoOoOo__

Professor Gaint has a snake named Nagini. She kept on following me around during those first days, as though making sure nothing happened again. I overheard the Professor hissing to her at diner one night, and felt both a little scared and jealous. How amazing to be able to speak to an animal, and have it speak back.


	12. Hogwarts

The rest of Hannah’s time at Cerrig Gorffwys went without incident, although she was greatly embarrassed at what had happened. Draco’s friends came over for the last week, and while Hannah had no issues with them, she avoided them at every turn. And when it came time for her to board the Hogwarts express, she went to the other side of the train than Draco.

Somehow, she ended up alone and chewing happily on an assortment of sweets, reading through a new chapter in her Potions textbook. The landscape changed, and the sun began to fall, coating the land in an orange wash by the time they arrived at Hogsmeade.

__oOoOoOo__

I recognized Hogsmeade as soon as we arrived. Not much, but a memory of building snowmen and eating sweets came, and I knew it was from when my family was still alive. It both saddens me, and makes me feel I belong. 

__oOoOoOo__

When Hagrid saw Hannah in the crowd, he knew he should know her. He guessed that she was the child of a friend or acquaintance, but could not see a resemblance or similarity to anyone he knew. So he smiled, and Hannah awkwardly smiled back, then the giant began to herd the first years away.

Hannah didn’t care much for her first view of Hogwarts. While the others gawked and gasped at the shimmering lights and towering stone, Hannah was looking down into the lake where figures were swimming and watching them. One moved closer to the surface, and the girl saw a humanoid face blink at her.

“Are those mermaids?” A bushy haired girl asked from her left. “I didn’t read about them in the history book…”  
“Perhaps there’s a reason for that.” Hannah replied, watching the figures recede away.

“I’m Hermione.”  
“Hannah,” Hannah replied, smiling slightly.   
The two shook hands and ducked quickly when Hagrid ordered. 

The horde of first years were led before a pair of great wooden doors where a woman in emerald robes stood waiting. A large hat dipped down at an angle and accentuated her stern eyes. When the children were silent, the woman – Professor McGonagall, as she was introduced – gave a brief introductory speech involving basic rules and what would happen to them that night. Then she seemed to click her heels and march away.

Alone, the first years began to talk amongst themselves.

“Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair, and a hand me down robe? You must be a Weasley.” Echoed through the room. Hannah, trailed by Hermione, followed the sound and stood in front of Draco and an angry red headed boy. 

“Already starting fights?” the girl said, crossing her arms. Draco took an offensive stance immediately, and scrutinized the two intruders.

“You’ll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. Don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. But I see you’ve already fallen there.” He barked, flicking his nose towards Hermione.

Hannah opened her mouth to retort when Professor McGonagall returned and cleared her throat. Once again, the children were being led away. They entered the great doors and into a large hall filled with other students.

Hermione mentioned something about the hall roof, but Hannah was focused on memorizing every inch of the extraordinary room.

“How… magical” She whispered. Hermione laughed. 

The sorting was quick, placing both Hermione and Hannah in Gryfendor, and Draco in Slytherin – much to Hannah’s joy. Noise filled the hall as the headmaster stood and began a strange welcoming speech, saying imaginary words and random sentences. It was all quite amusing, and Hannah was marveling her fortune when a ragged man ran inside, whispered something to Dumbledore, and then ran off again.

“Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death.”

Hannah’s mind paused and the stone in her pocket became heavy. She wondered if that scruffy man was the son of her beloved Egraine, and promised to find out. So that night, after the feast and while the others were asleep in their dormitories, Hannah slipped out into the night, her pajamas protecting her from the cold. She marched down the stairs and into a random corridor, then began to quietly call out the caretaker’s name. 

“Mr. Filch.” She called, then again. She slowly began to walk around, saying the name every half minute or so.  
A cats meow greeted her as an elegant tabby-cat stalked towards her.

“Mr. Filch.” She tried again.  
“My my. Getting caught out on the first night? We are a naughty one, I’ll have to keep an eye on you.” The man appeared next to his cat, a cruel smirk on his lips.  
“I was looking for you sir. Please listen.”

Mr. Filch raised his scraggly eyebrows and gestured for her to continue, expecting some half baked accuse for poor behavior. 

“… I didn’t think this part out. ... Umm,” Hannah mumbled, “I … well … are you Egraine’s son? Egraine Filch … from Ireland?”

Mr. Filch didn’t say anything for a moment, then frowned and crossed his arms.   
“What of it? She’s a good woman, and I’ll not a have some snot-nosed brat tarnish her goodness, even if she is a Muggle.” He yelled, and reached out to grab Hannah.

“No no! Not that. Wait,” The girl ducked and held out her closed hand, gesturing for him to take something, “… She … died. She died protecting me … and when I heard your name I thought … I thought you should know.”

Mr. Filch slowly held out his own hand and watched Hannah drop the black stone into his palm.

“Mother?” He said quietly, then fell to his knees and let out a loud wail. “My mother. When? How? WHEN?” He yelled, and Hannah knelt down beside him.

__oOoOoOo__

I didn’t know what to say. So I told of how Laura and I went to the farm when our parents died, and Egraine had looked after us. I didn’t mention Mr. Baker, Mr. Kain, or Augustus. Though I’m not sure if that was for his sake or mine. 

__oOoOoOo__

Mr. Filch sobbed about how he never visited and rambled on and on about childhood memories and happy times. Hannah stayed quiet, nearly falling asleep due to the late hour. Then, the man calmed, his face blank. He returned the stone to Hannah, then helped her up, his wrinkled face puffy and red.

“You’d better look after that stone of hers, you hear. C’mon, I’ll take you back to your common room. Next time I catch you out though, there’ll be consequences.”

Hannah believed him.

Next morning, she woke early and entered the bathroom. She had gotten used to her reflection and no longer froze when she saw it, though it did make her heart ach. That morning however, when she went to brush her hair, her reflection blinked then said, “I do like your haircut.”

Hannah screamed, threw the brush at the glass, and locked herself in a bathroom cubicle where she began to sob loudly. Hermione ran in, having been woken by all the noise, and spent the next hour coaxing the girl out. Hermione only asked what had happened once, and when Hannah didn’t reply, she didn’t mention it again.

They dressed in silence, and then wandered down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Hannah said a happy greeting to Mr. Filch when he passed, making him grumble but nod in reply. 

Avoiding the Weasley boy and Draco, who were arguing by the doors, the two girls found a seat by a fireplace and began to eat. Hermione was summarizing the most interesting facts in one of her textbooks to Hannah, who was joyously experiencing sushi for the first time.

And later that morning when they were heading towards potions, and once again saw the Weasley and Draco arguing, the girls were discussing the possible mermaids in the lake. 

Exactly on the time for class to start, Professor Snape stormed into the classroom and began a speech about potion making. He looked at Hannah with his black eyes, seemed to debate something in his mind, then moved on.

When it came time for potion making, Hannah was placed with the Weasley boy, who introduced himself as Ronald. It became apparent that Ron had little to no interest in potions, and that he also had no culinary skills to speak of. Hannah spent the entire time preventing his mistakes and taking over his tasks. So when Professor Snape called the end of time and the end of class, she bottled the brew then stormed out.  
She wasn’t so much angry as frustrated and in dire need of a good lunch. Hermione laughed at this.

__oOoOoOo__

Defense Against the Dark Arts – or DADA as the upper years referred to it – was directly after lunch, and was taught my Professor Gaunt who had a longstanding reputation as the schools evil genius in disguise. When the two girls entered the room, a series of strange scratching sounds greeted them from a closet. 

“Ah. Two new students, keen and early for learning, I see,” Professor Gaunt said from his desk, “Have a seat, have a seat.”

The girls shuffled their bags off their shoulders, the heavy weights thumping on the desk. The closet shook again, and the sound of high screeching echoed from inside. Professor Gaunt gave the sounds no attention as he looked through a small pile of notes.

Slowly, over the next few minutes, other students began to filter in and take their seats. Thankfully, whatever feud Ron and Draco were having had at least come to a temporary standoff, as the boys were silent – though on other ends of the room.

“Good evening everyone. …” Professor Gaunt started, and like Professor Snape before, began a small introductory speech on DADA, “… And on that note, I would like to introduce you to a pesky group of troublemakers. Cornish Pixies. I’d advise you all to duck.”

With a small gesture, the closet burst open, its doors smacking the wall behind, and releasing a blue cloud of squawking pixies. 

__oOoOoOo__

The first week was so filled with magic and excitement that the days simply blurred together. Although, that Friday we had our first flying lesson, where whatever truce hade met with Draco and Ron evaporated – as they had such a row that a boy named Neville ended up with a broken wrist.   
Those two fools were going to have a flying challenge while Madame Hooch was away. Hermione and I managed to keep them grounded though. I had to threaten Draco with hiding something unsavory in his bedroom.


	13. King

With Halloween came flying pumpkin pranks and delicious sweets. Hannah tried not to think about her previous Halloween, overshadowed by the deaths of Mary and Mrs. Baker, and the arrival of Augustus Quain, but in every shadow and every noise brought with it stray memories and thoughts. It was grating, exhausting Hannah’s mind.

The day’s classes drudged onwards with Hermione twittering in excitement for the feast. Ron and Draco had set a line of curses to each other, changing their coloring, and in Ron’s case, species; sparking a house-wide prank war that resulted in the loss of numerous house points.

At a quarter to six, Hermione dragged Hannah from their common room towards the Great-Hall, dodging the debris that Mr. Filch was cleaning. 

“Will you be at the feast too, Mr. Filch?” Hannah called.  
“Probably. If you kids don’t ruin it.” He grumbled, placing squashed pumpkin in a bucket.  
Hermione tugged impatiently, and the two girls continued on their way.

Much like on their first night, the Great-Hall was filled with floating candles, bright colours, and numerous decorations, the difference coming from the large jack-o-lanterns and piles of sugary treats. Many students had already arrived, sitting around and waiting for Dumbledore to begin the meal.

“Come on, lets go sit over there. I see some treacle tarts and chocolate gateau.” The bushy haired girl crooned. A cluster of older students was sitting there also, and welcomed the first years into their conversation of Viking culture. It was an odd conversation to be sure, but welcome nevertheless.

Dumbledore entered from a side door, and all noise stopped as he approached the owl lectern. Wearing the most vibrant purple robe Hannah had ever seen, that released little fake ghosts whenever the old man lifted his arms, the headmaster grinned cheekily and clapped his hands.

“Happy Halloween.” He yelled, and cutlery and crockery appeared on the tables. The students cheered and dug-in with gusto, filling their plates and mouths with as much food as possible. Most were completely ignoring the vegetables and meats, but Hermione was adamant about eating properly first, not that Hannah minded.

“… I’ve always liked swimming, so travelling to Australia or Hawaii sounds like great fun…” Hermione stopped talking and frowned slightly. Then slowly continued to eat.  
“Is everything alright?” Hannah asked when the girl once again paused and frowned.  
“I think so.” She looked around quickly, then reached a hand under the table. Hannah made a small clicking noise when Hermione pulled her arm back, reveling blood on her fingertips.

Without saying a word, Hannah pulled off her jumper and tied it around the others waist. She then cupped Hermione’s elbow and began to lead her up and away. No-one paid them any mind, as they had sad near the main doors, and they were able to escape quickly.

The nearest bathroom was on the second floor, so that was where they went. By the time Hermione was sitting in a cubicle, she was red faced and teary.

“Do you understand what’s happening?” Hannah asked, handing the other a damp towel to clan her legs.  
“Of course I do, its just,” She sniffed, “how humiliating.”  
“Don’t worry. No-one saw”  
“But what if they did?” Hermione yelled.  
“But they didn’t. I made sure of that. Now,” Hannah said while pointing to a pair of strange little frog statues in the corner of the cubicle, “Those are your friends. When you need any female sanitary item, you tap the blue one on the head.”

When she didn’t continue, Hermione reached down and touched the little statue. Instantly, a small square wrapped in parchment appeared in its mouth.

“Then,” Hannah pointed to the red frog, “when you wish to discard of the item, you put it in that one’s hand. It will vanish instantly. And this,” the girl pointed to a little box by the sink, “will instantly clean anything placed inside it.”

Hermione nodded slumped onto the toilet seat.  
“Thank you.”  
“No problem.”

__oOoOoOo__

We stayed in there for a while, perhaps half an hour or so. But Hermione was in no mood to leave. I told her about Egrain’s and Aunty Agnus’s explanation of ‘the red flower’, which made her laugh. It made me nostalgic however, and I spent the rest of the time there thinking about blue cows and haircuts.

__oOoOoOo__

Hermione was putting on her just cleaned panties and stockings, ready now to leave for dinner again, when a strange noise filled the bathroom. A cluster of scratches and squeaks seemed to be approaching the large wooden doors, and Hannah instinctually ran forwards to lock them. A loud bang came as some large mass hit the wood, making it groan in protest.

Hermione finished dressing in a hurry and grabbed Hannah’s hand, dragging her into a corner cubicle and locking the door. The two hopped up and balanced on the toilet’s rim, clutching the opposite walls for support. The banging continued on and on until finally the door seemed to explode inwards. For a moment there was silence, with the girls holding their breaths in fear, until a small squeak drew their eyes downwards. 

Under the small gap of the cubicle door stood a grey rodent looking up at them. It sniffed the air, lifting off its front feet, then released a human sounding scream. The door exploded inwards, hitting Hannah and Hermione with wood debris as a hoard of rats and mice flooded in and pushed them out. The bathroom was covered in a flood of living flesh, all tied together by their tails, and wailing as they bit and scratched the girls. In the center of the room, the rats piled upwards and supported a human-sized rat skeleton, its giant head watching as the girls were pulled over by a tide.

The skeleton twisted at the spine, rising higher, and opened its mouth to show off sharp incisors. When it began to cream loudly, Hannah was able to grab her wand from her inside pocket and point upwards. 

“Lumos Maxima!” She yelled, filling the room with a blinding light. The rodents dropped the two girls in their rush for shadow. Hermione then also pulled out her wand and aimed at the largest mass she could find. 

The rodents began to charge at the girls again, stopping when Hermione called, “Incendeo.”

Flame shot out and singed the fur of the closest rats and mice, making them race around to where Hannah was shining her light. Together, they were barely able to keep the mass away, and they were running out of stamina quickly. 

“Help!” Hannah called as her light began to dim slightly.  
“Help!” Hermione joined. 

They called loudly, watching in fear as the last of the light and fire left their wants, and the rodents charged again. They were covered in an instant, little claws and teeth bighting and scratching.

There was a bang, and suddenly the mass was still, every creature sleeping where they stood.

“Are you all right?” Came a voice as hands pulled the girls up and away.  
Professor McGonagall, and Professor Gaunt were standing with their wands out, while Professor Snape was holding Hannah and Hermione.

“What the devil were you two doing here? Why didn’t you evacuate to your dorms with everybody else?” Professor Snape barked, looking at the scratches that covered every inch of the girls’ skin.

“We didn’t know.” Hermione mumbled.  
“How? The schools been in lockdown for near half an hour now.” Professor McGonagall asked, wrapping the rodents in something reminiscent of a bubble.

Hannah sighed and looked up, “I got my period,” She lied, “and Hermione took me here to help clean me up. I didn’t want to go back right away because I was embarrassed.”

Both male teachers coughed, and Professor Snape straightened up awkwardly, both uncomfortable with how the conversation had shifted.   
“I see,” Said Professor Gaunt, “Well, Severus and I can deal with the Rat King, if you could take the girls to the hospital wing, Minerva.”

The woman nodded and began to guide Hannah and Hermione away.

__oOoOoOo__

Poppy healed us up quite quickly, and we were sent up to bed after a few hours. Mr Filch escorted us oddly enough. We still had had an hour before curfew, but I think he wanted to make sure nothing attacked us again – even though he spent the entire walk reminiscing about hanging naughty children by the ankles. 

__oOoOoOo__

“Hannah.” Hermione muttered from behind her bed curtains.  
“Mmm?”  
“I fucking hate Halloween.”

Hannah sat up and laughed loudly, her mouth opening wide and eyes closing.  
“Me too.” She said through giggles and snorts, “Halloween sucks.”


	14. Macbeth

Apart from Halloween, first term was progressing rather smoothly, and both Professors Gaunt and Snape stopped watching for any instability in Hannah. Her and Hermione’s friendship was growing, and Professor McGonagall had handed in no incident reports, so they were in the green as far as they were concerned.

In actuality, Hannah was not doing overly well. It started small; every now and then she would hear Laura, as though on the other end of the hallway or room. It was easy for her to ignore until Laura’s voice began to yell and beg, the sound then changing into the wail of the Rat King. 

There was a Ravenclaw student with long black hair like Laura’s, and at meal times Hannah would confuse her for her twin, leaping into a standing position and begin to go over, until the elusion broke and she would return awkwardly.

The first time Hannah saw blood on her hands, she screamed and locked herself in the bathroom. It was the weekend, and everyone was out either studying or socializing, including Hermione, so Hannah was alone in her weeping. The bathroom mirror, which had learned to not usually talk to the girl, was trying everything it could to calm her down. 

When an abandoned bathroom flooded, Hannah remembered the dark basement of Baker farm, and the bloody room within, and tried to focus entirely on her friend, who was talking about a ghost named Moaning Myrtle. The small episodes increased in frequency, sometimes happening simultaneously, creating a habit in Hannah of biting away the skin on her thumbs. Then in charms and DADA, students were introduced to longer spells that could take a few minutes to perform. Each elongated Latin word and long-winded sentence brought back images of Mr. Baker, Mr. Kain, and Augustus, the three men always standing in the corners of the room with the elegant blade in their hands. And at night, when the other girls were asleep, Hannah would listen to the sound of their doorknob being twisted and turned, as though someone was trying to come in.

With their attention no longer on the girl, neither Professor Snape nor Professor Gaunt properly noticed the bags under her eyes, or how she would watch the shadows in fear and confusion.

__oOoOoOo__

I can recall standing in the hallway between potions and the grand staircase, alone, as Hermione had gone off to return a library book. Gasps and sighs were coming from a closed broom closet down the way, and I found myself unable to move. I kept thinking it was poor Mary or Linda, and wanting nothing but a weapon of some sort, to put as many holes in the attacker as I could. But then the noise stopped, and two elder students opened the door and snuck away, having not seen me. I still didn’t move though, not for a long while.

__oOoOoOo__

English was taught by Professor Charity Burbage - who also taught Muggle Studies and Textiles - and was beginning a unit on Shakespeare. And so it was that Hannah’s class were beginning their first read-through of Macbeth, which was Professor Burbage’s favorite play. Students were alternating roles in each scene, some becoming quite dramatic in their readings. When it came time for the murder of the Macduff family, the readers had leapt up from their chairs and were acting it out. It was quite a fun display, as the students involved were members of the Theatre class, and Hannah found herself giggling at the slapstick.

“What are these faces?” Cried one.  
“Where is your husband?” The ‘murderer’ said with his want raised.  
“I hope, in no place so unsanctified where such as thou mayst find him.”  
“He's a traitor.”  
“Thou liest, thou shag-hair'd villain!” The boy playing the son leaped forwards and onto the ‘murderer’, beating his chest lightly with tilted fists.  
“What, you egg!” The class laughed at the line, and continued when the ‘murderer’ pulled out a stunt knife and began to stab the other. Hannah had stopped though, seeing blood pool to the floor where there was none.

“Young fry of treachery! He has kill'd me, mother: Run away, I pray you!” With those words, Hannah’s mind once again spilled. It was not some drama student on the floor, but Henry, covered in sperm and blood with his heart stopped.

Augustus was approaching now, holding Hannah tightly as he tried to drag her away. Laura was behind, headless, her blood making the floor slippery. Hands were grabbing, on Hannah’s thighs, on her mouth, squeezing her nipples and pulling her hair as Mr. Baker brandished the knife. Mr. Kain was behind, unzipping his pants as he had that night in the kitchen, and was forcing her legs open.

Hannah screamed loudly, drawing the class’s attention to her, and when Hermione rushed over to see what was wrong, Hannah pushed her away and ran out the door. She ran down the corridor, up the stairs, across a courtyard and into an abandoned classroom where she stayed for the rest of the day.

Hogwarts’s gossip wheel was as fast as ever, and by dinnertime most had already heard about the incident. In a matter of hours, Hannah Potter was labeled psycho or attention-seeker, depending on whom you asked, and those around her shuffled away. Fortunately however, the eyes of Tom and Severus were once again on her.

__oOoOoOo__

I had scared Hermione away, and although she still tried to be friendly, I could see how much I frightened her. We were both alone again, as she had been deemed too Ravenclaw-ish for Gryfendors, and too Gryfendor-ish for Ravenclaws.


	15. Waters Rise

Laura pulled her twin up and lay with her under their blankets, holding her close and stroking her hair. Hannah did not sleep that night, so she saw when Mrs. Baker left the main house. 

The woman was naked, her pale skin shining in the moonlight as she walked towards the forest and vanished into the darkness.  
Last time this had happened, Hannah had just looked away and shifted closer to her twin, but this time she found her heart pounding and legs ready to follow.

“Laura.” She whispered, but when she turned to wake the other she found her gone, replaced by Egraine’s black stone. Hannah turned away and stood, watching as Mrs. Baker seemed to wait for her outside. The young girl took off her pajamas, leaving them folded on her bed, grabbed the stone, and walked out the door. The sudden coldness of the common room and grand-staircase made her naked skin shiver, but Hannah gave it no mind.

Once Hannah was outside, Mrs. Baker turned and walked away without a word, and the young witch followed.  
“Ma’am, can I ask you something,” Hannah asked, Mrs. Baker didn’t even turn her head in acknowledgement.  
“Did you know what was happening? No, no, you probably didn’t. But then why did you leave?”

Once again, the woman did not acknowledge the question, simply leading Hannah down towards the long bridge.

“Toby needed you, you know, and Henry didn’t know what to do … why did you abandon them? Were they not important enough to you? …”

Hannah was more talking to herself as she followed, not feeling her toes numb. They walked in silence then, neither covering themselves against the cold as they passed Hagrid’s hut. The half-giant was quite asleep, his curtains drawn and door locked.

A low resting fog lay blanketing the forest floor, slowing their journey slightly, the twisting roots looping and trying to trip Hannah. Eventually though, they found themselves standing on the shores of the black lake. The area that Mrs. Baker had led her to looked remarkably similar to the deep stream at Baker farm, only without a current.

The woman had stopped ankle deep in the cold water, and turned around to look directly at Hannah. In her hand was Mary’s halter, that had been found downstream that morning.

“If I follow you, will I understand?” Hannah mumbled. The woman smiled, her beautiful eyes crinkling at the edges, and began to walk slowly backwards. Hannah followed without hesitation. 

The water was icy against her skin, painfully so, but she kept moving forwards. When her lower stomach was submerged, Hannah heard a yell from behind. Mrs. Baker dived under as the girl turned to see the intruder.

Running towards the shore was Mags and Trevor; dressed, as they were the first time she had seen them, in clothes covered in flour and dirt. Hannah smiled brightly, truly happy to see them again, but didn’t move to leave to lake. Trevor raced forwards, splashing the water in his haste, and grabbed the girl’s wrist. His grip was hard and inescapable, and suddenly it was Mr. Kain holding her.

Hannah yelled and tried to pull away, splashing the man with water and hitting his chest. Behind, past where Mags herself had turned into Mr. Baker, was Laura. She was standing behind a tree and watching the scene with fear.

Hannah punched Mr. Kain in the jaw, making him stagger back.   
“Laura,” She screamed and threw the stone, “Run. You need to run.”  
Mr. Kain was back and trying to grab her again as Hannah yelled to her twin. Laura picked up the stone slowly but did not leave, making Hannah desperate. She splashed and hit the man holding her, trying to distract him long enough for her sister to leave. She pushed harder and harder, until finally the man swore and pulled out a wand, knocking her out instantly.

__oOoOoOo__

Hermione had woken to a whispered name. She sat up groggily and rubbed her eyes, opening her bed’s curtains in time to see a naked Hannah walk out into the darkness. 

The girl raced up and out, running after the other and calling her name, but when she reached the bottom of the grand-staircase, Hermione decided to get Professor McGonagall. So she turned and ran to the teacher’s office and private quarters, banging on the door as loudly as she could. The door opened near instantly, not by the woman, but by Professor Snape.

“What is the meaning of this, miss Granger?” He barked.  
“It’s Hannah,” She gasped, “She’s walking around naked, and I can’t snap her out of it. She’s heading outside.”

The professors looked to each other before McGonagall hastily stacked the unit plan she was holding and raced out the door.  
“Which way, miss Granger?” The woman asked as the three ran, pushing the girl into the lead. They ran outside and followed the sound of Hannah’s voice, then ran faster when they saw the girl in the distance. 

By the time they arrived, Hannah was already half in the cold waters.  
“Hannah.” Hermione called out. Professor Snape did not stop at the waters edge, running in and straight to the girl. 

Hannah’s shrill screams scared Hermione into hiding behind a tree, watching anxiously as student and Professor wrestled. Then the naked witch threw a stone to her, and Hermione picked it up and put it in her pocket.

When Professor Snape knocked the struggling student out, and lifted her into his arms, the two female’s waited for him at the waters edge, Hermione taking off her dressing down and draping it over Hannah’s shoulders and chest.

“What are those markings on Hannah’s stomach?” She asked. Neither teacher responded, but they looked at the patterned skin, and etched the symbols into their memories.

“I’ll take her to Poppy, Minerva. You should escort miss Granger back to bed.” Professor Snape said.  
“But-“  
“No arguments. There is nothing you can do now anyway.”  
At the girls dejected look however, the man’s fierce eyes soften, “ You can visit her in the morning, but for now, you need to sleep.”

Hermione sighed, but went with her head of house quietly, watching as the potions master turned towards the hospital-wing.

Madame Pomfrey looked down sadly at the small first year, dwarfed further by the pile of blankets above her.   
“Apart from her chill, there’s nothing else I can help with. I am not qualified to deal with wounds in the mind. I’ll have to organize a mind healer to come, but I fear a stranger prodding around in there may cause more harm than good.” The nurse muttered.  
“Call Mrs. Malfoy. They’ve already met, and miss Potter is not averse to her presence.” Replied Professor Snape from where he sat by the bed.  
“Mrs. Malfoy? Very well. I’ll sent an owl immediately.” And she turned around and left, leaving the Professor alone with Hannah.

__oOoOoOo__

After I woke up, Professor Snape yelled at me. He wasn’t mean, but his hands shook and his eyes were closed. I must have scared him, like I scared Hermione.   
I told him about Mrs. Baker. About how she had killed herself in the stream, and about Aunty Agnus’s sugar necklace and Mary’s halter. He watched and listened, and after a minute he knelt down and told me about Kelpies. You see, Kelpies are water spirits that will either take a mortal to Avalon, or kill them. The professor told me that being naked under the moonlight attracts them, as you are appealing prey, and that it is believed a halter branded with a cross will bind them. But, he said, a Kelpie has a strict line of etiquette and rules, and is easily offended. And trying to put a halter on one offends it instantly.

In the hospital wing, I had lots of time to think on his words. I recalled that Old Aunty Agnus had worn the sugar necklace to defend herself against faeries, and had most certainly passed on her beliefs to her niece. And so, I came to the conclusion that Mrs. Baker had not committed suicide. I now believe that she had thought poor Mary spirited away, and that she intended to rescue her from the Fey. That she had found a Kelpie, offended it, and was killed by it. And that thought puts my heart more at ease than it should.


	16. Friends

Madame Pomfrey organized for Mrs. Malfoy to come in twice a week to see Hannah, starting three days after the lake incident. Hannah was to stay in the hospital wing for a week having contracted pneumonia, leaving her to wait anxiously for her first appointment. 

Hermione visited the morning after the incident, but was so shaken by the night’s events that she had hardly spoken, and left after only a few minutes. They next day however, and a day before Mrs. Malfoy would come, brought Ron and Draco to the hospital wing, both blue, covered in yellow boils, and sporting rather impressive back tentacles. A potions accident, Ron had muttered as they were placed in beds either side of her.

The first few hours of their isolation was quiet – if slightly awkward. Hannah spent most of it in and out of consciousness, waking to the two boys exchanging insults. Eventually though, boredom overtook them and they moved on to insulting one another over chess. Hannah had shuffled back, and the boys were using the end of her bed as a table. She had never played chess before, the Baker Farm only had cards, and she watched in fascination as the animated pieces marched.

“I’m surprised you have enough magical ability to even shift the pieces.” Draco said.  
“I know,” Ron replied sarcastically, “My very poor self is so poor that I couldn’t possibly have any mana. I don’t sickle it from my mummy, after all.” He mocked.  
“How vulgar. No wonder your family is so -”  
“Why do you two hate each other?” Hannah interrupted, her head resting on her knees. The two boys had quite forgotten she was there, and took a moment to respond.  
“Isn’t it obvious?” Draco spat.  
“He’s a bloody Gargoyle.”  
“And he’s a lily-livered Phoenix.”

Hannah raised an eyebrow and watched the two glare at one another.  
“Are we in some teenage literature novel? You two aren’t secretly pining after the same mortal who has some hidden mission, are you?” She laughed.

Draco spluttered, stopping in moving his queen.  
“What? No. We don’t mean … I’m not an actual Gargoyle. They’re giant … and stony.”  
“We mean … you really don’t know?” Ron asked.  
“How can you not know? You’re staying at Gargoyles Den.”   
“She’s what?” Ron squeaked.

“Will you two stop with this circular argument and speak like normal people.” Hannah sighed at Draco and Ron’s matching perplexed expressions, and rubbed her temple.

“Erm,” Ron began, “Well, you see. Magic comes in two strands. Light magic is connected to the earth and sky. It’s … external. And dark magic is linked to the soul, being internal. The wizarding world is divided into several kingdoms. There are thousands of them among the creatures and beasts, and a few hundred among Witches and Wizards. Across England, Ireland, and Scotland, there are two kingdoms.”  
“The Gargoyles,” Draco took over, “are made of those with internal magic. And their bunch, Phoenixes, are made of external magic holders.”

“Oh … so what am I?”  
“Nothing,” Draco huffed, “You’re a half-breed. Muggle-born and half-breeds can shape their magic based on what spells they use most …”  
“This is such an awkward conversation. I feel like someone else should be telling you this.” Ron groaned, “Look, the long and short of it is that he’s from a dark magic family, and I’m from a light magic family, so we don’t like each other.”

“That’s stupid.”  
“No its not.” Draco defended, “We have our reasons for not liking each other. Wars, murders, generations of animosity.”  
“Oh, so have either of you committed murder, acted in or started a war, or actively participated in this family feud before now?”  
“Well … no” Ron admitted.  
“So what’s the problem?”  
“You just don’t understand.” Draco spat, and effectively ended the conversation. The boys prematurely ended their game and went to their respective beds in silence. 

For the rest of the day, the three occupied themselves with homework or reading, not even looking at each other.

__oOoOoOo__

When Hannah entered Madame Pomfrey’s office to meat the mind healer, she was made of shakes and nerves. But when the familiar face of Mrs. Malfoy came through the fireplace, she simply felt relieved. That feeling ended quite quickly though, when the woman explained how the first appointment would need to proceed. The woman would need to enter Hannah’s mind, and poke and prod a little. She likened it to looking at a deep wound, and having to check for infection or dirt. Hannah did not appreciate the mental image that that provided.

So the girl was sat in a high-backed chair, across from the witch, and was cocooned in a flannelette blanket. On the count of three, Mrs. Malfoy cast a spell and Hannah felt as though her mind was water, leaking out her eyes and mouth and choking her in her own thoughts and memories. Then a stillness came, and long smoky streams twisted in front of her. Hannah wasn’t sure what she was looking at, and didn’t have time to think about it before she was sucked back and opened her eyes to Madame Pomfrey’s office again. She was on the floor, her limbs spasming slightly, and the nurse was placing a pillow under her head. 

“Sorry dear. That can happen sometimes,” The elderly woman whispered, “Did you get what you needed, Mrs. Malfoy?”  
“Yes. I will head home now, and create a plan for her.” And she stood, gave Hannah a gentle nod, and left.

Madame Pomfrey lifted the young girl up with surprising strength.   
“Lets get you back to bed.” She said, and opened the office door with her foot.

Ron and Draco were slightly alarmed when Hannah returned in the arms of the medi-witch, still shaking. When she was tucked in under layers of cotton, Madame Pomfrey looked at the boys with a stern look and said, “I want you two to keep an eye on her, and come and inform me should anything happen.”

And they did. They once again set up chess at the end of Hannah’s bed, and watched the small girl. Every now and then a stream of light would flow from her eyes, ears, or nose, which Draco explained meant that her mind hadn’t taken well to being broken into. And at some point among those several hours, both boys individually decided to look after this strange girl. It was all rather sweet.

It was in the middle of their 17th game of chess that Hermione entered the hospital-wing. Hannah was awake by then, and mostly relaxed, watching the newcomer approach from behind a curtain of hair.

__oOoOoOo__

Hermione said sorry to me. I don’t think she needed to, and had it not been her who was apologizing I would have ignored it, but she sat on her knees and gave a very Hermione-esque speech that involved a three-point structure and examples. I found the entire thing quite funny. And then she pulled Egraine’s stone from her pocket and handed it over. I had quite forgotten about it, which was quite unusual for me. She wished to be friends again, and who could reject such a sincere request? Or perhaps I had simply missed her. Either way, she stayed and talked with me for a few hours, Ron and Draco slowly moving closer and adding in their own opinions. It was almost as though we were a group.

__oOoOoOo__

Three days after their first appointment, and a day after Hannah was released from Madame Pomfrey’s care, Mrs. Malfoy arrived with her treatment plan. She met Hannah in the school’s library, a small box of pastries hidden under her cloak.

“Now, Hannah,” The woman said, handing over a sturdy leather bound book with engraved decorations on the cover, “I understand that some events are impossible for people to talk about, but sometimes one can only work through things if the words are out. So I want you to write it in this book. These pages are your sanctuary. I will never ask to read it, and you never have to offer. I want you to write down everything. Do you understand?”

Hannah felt the soft cover, then flipped through the hundreds of blank pages. A small smile curved her lips and she nodded at the older woman.  
“Yes, I understand.”  
“Good. Here, I have some sweets for you. Don’t show Miss Pince though, she might just turn us both into foot ladders.” Mrs. Malfoy said conspiratorially, lifting an elegant finger to her lips.

Hannah laughed and thanked her. The two then sat and spoke of nothing and everything, taking secret bites of muffins and cakes. And when the woman left, Hannah opened up the journal and began to write.

‘If I concentrate, I can recall every event, every breath that happened on that farm. I don’t even have to concentrate particularly hard. The challenge though, comes in not looking back at all. Some doors should never be re-opened, not even in thought.  
Yet here I am, looking back with the express purpose of remembering everything that happened. 

But I trust Mrs. Malfoy, and I believe she has me doing this for a reason.’

__oOoOoOo__

Of the many books in Malfoy Mannor, there was a small collection of empty journals. Gifts or souvenirs from around the world that none in the family had need for. So they accumulated on a small bookshelf in the library. One journal however, which had been unremarkable in its arrival, had been there for 6 years and had become a familiar sight. And so, when Mrs. Mafoy was choosing something for her latest patient to write in, she chose that.

Unbeknownst to her, in the middle of the ocean and behind stone walls lay the journals twin, connected as a way of communication but acting only as a source of comfort for its owner and convicted murderer, Sirius Black. And Siruis was currently watching in awe as the previously blank pages filled with the memories and thoughts of his beloved god-daughter, a child he had though dead along with her parents. He wept when he learned of Laura’s fate, and shuddered at Professor Snape’s name, and above all vowed to see her again.

__oOoOoOo__

“I didn’t know you could sing.” Hannah said from the doorway. Before her was a blushing Hermione, old guitar in hand and music sheets scattered about.  
“I … I … . An old habit, I suppose.”  
“Can you teach me?” Hannah said closing the door, “Not the singing bit, the guitar. I used to play piano – not very well, mind you – but I miss the music…”

Hermione beamed a smile and bid the other to sit, shuffling her instrument into pale hands.

Hannah took to the instrument quickly, although her fingers would need strengthening. While she was practicing changing between the three chords that her friend had demonstrated, Hermione tapped her feet and looked up.

“If you don’t mind me asking, and you don’t have to answer – what are the marks on your stomach?”

Hannah paused and pursed her lips, “I actually have no idea. They simply appeared one day. I haven’t actually given them much thought.”  
“Oh? I could look into them for you if you like?”  
“No. I wouldn’t bother. Some things are better left alone …”  
“If your sure”  
“I am. But thank you.”

And nothing more was mentioned about the marks.


	17. Christmas

Christmas came in a rush of tinsel and mistletoe traps. Hermione, Draco, and Ron all boarded the Hogwarts express to spend the holiday with their family members, leaving Hannah at Hogwarts with Professors Snape and Gaunt. She would only be there until Christmas day however, before she would go to Professor Gaunt’s home, just in time for his annual Christmas Ball.

The first few days were spent either in the library finishing off assignments, or with Mr. Filch. Her previous Christmas was spent locked inside the workers Lodge, with Henry laying broken on the matrass, stress overwhelming him. Hannah tried not to think on such things however, following Mrs. Norris around whenever her mind began to wonder. The cat seemed to understand, the smart creature that she was, and would lead the student to the greenhouses, to the owlery to see Hedwig, or to secret nooks around the castle. And once Hannah was happy, the tabby cat would turn around a corner and vanish, most likely back to her master. It was on such an afternoon, two days before Christmas, that found Hannah wondering around a series of abandoned classrooms. Peeves the poltergeist was prowling the area, making Hannah duck behind statues and under tables. It was an interesting game of cat and mouse that Peeves was only slightly aware he was playing.

Finally, the girl managed to slip into a hidden room without alerting the ghost, and resigned herself to stay for a while. Looking around, she marveled at the elegant high ceiling and engraved stone. It was a small hall of some sort, possibly an old common room based off the fireplace and branching off rooms. Leaning against a far wall, and hidden in shadow was a large mirror bordered in gold and silver. It was a beautiful piece, and holding a nonsensical inscription along its top.

Hannah walked over to it, standing a few feet away, and watched as the glass shimmered. Figures began to appear behind her in the mirror, and Hannah watched in excitement. But then it faded, and the glass resumed to only showing Hannah’s reflection.

“Odd.” She muttered, then shrugged and walked away. Peeking her head outside of the room, she deemed the coast clear and began to walk back to the library. Still inside however, and hiding in one of the branching rooms was Headmaster Dumbledore. He sighed in relief and clicked his aged fingers, removing the veil he had placed over the mirror of Erised.

“Perhaps it is time you returned it back behind the trap door,” Came the voice of Professor Gaunt, “The stone has been re-imbedded after all, and procrastination never did anyone any good.”  
“Yes, very good Tom.” The old man muttered sarcastically.

__oOoOoOo__

Hagrid had organized a picnic for Christmas Eve, with the Headmaster having charmed an area by the lake to stay warm for the day. There was a small gathering of the three Professors, the grounds keeper, the caretaker, Hannah, and two elder students from Slytherin. 

Hagrid and Mr. Filch, who were surprisingly good friends, were debating on the best slug repellant from either side of Hannah. The two other students, Marcus Flint and Yatin Bhagat as Hannah was introduced, were eyeing the men in disbelief while eating slices of Christmas pudding. It was a nice scene, and reminiscent of Egraine’s birthday party the year previous, which Hannah told Mr. Filch happily.

At one point in the afternoon a giant house elf named Boris appeared, dressed in a stripy costume and Santa hat, and began to hand out gifts. With each handover, he would smile happily and give a little hop dance. Then, with an empty sack, he vanished in a cloud of glitter. Headmaster Dumbledore was laughing at the sight, before ushering everyone to open their gifts. Hannah waited however, wishing to do so in the privacy of her room.

So that night she placed the two parcels in front of her on the bed. The first was small, with a plain card overtop.  
‘Hold me tight, when in darkness or from fright, and I will send to you they who are ready to retrieve or to fight.’ - With best wishes from Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, Gaunt, and Snape.

Hannah laughed at the rhyme and opened the package, revealing a small pendant on a silver chain. The girl toughed it, feeling awkward, but lifted it up and over her head. It fell down just past her collarbones, a good length to be hidden beneath her shirt.

Inside the second package she found a kitten soft cloak that pooled at her legs. It was strange looking, covered in circles and symbols, and when Hannah tried it on it gave off a warm feeling. When she went into the bathroom however, to see what it looked like on her, she found that it made all but her face invisible. The girl hastily threw it off, folded it, and hid it at the bottom of her trunk, determined to keep the amazing garment a secret for the time being. 

__oOoOoOo__

That night a familiar nightmare returned to Hannah, of the giant spider wrapping its gory web around her home. Of the corpses it had collected however, one was crawling over, holding its head out by the hair. Laura’s lips were blue, her joints stiff and cracking as she struggled to move.

“Hannah,” She gasped, “Lalassu Babu. Find it. Find it." She began to scream, now before Hannah’s face. “Lalassu Babu. Remember, Lalassu Babu. Its pages will tell you all. Find that book. Lalassu Babu, Lalassu Babu.”

And Hannah awoke, screaming in the middle of the room, her feet muddy and covered in cuts. Without thinking, she ran to her desk and wrote three letters, one to each of her friends. ‘I need to find a book: Lalassu Babu. Will you help me?’  
And the letters were sent off into the night before she could change her mind.

__oOoOoOo__

Christmas day. 

After Hannah had opened the gifts that had appeared by her bed, and read the replies and confirmations from her friends, she was met by Professor Gaunt. With a wave of his wand, all of Hannah’s personal effects were packed away and ready to be moved.

“Are you ready to leave, miss Potter?” The man asked kindly. She nodded and looked up. “Good then. Grab my arm now, and we will be on our way.”

When her small hands touched the silk of his sleeve there was a loud pop and the world began to spin and bend, feeling as though it were moving in and out of her belly button. It was overly uncomfortable and gave Hannah an odd craving for orange juice. When the land settled, the pair were standing by the large front stairs of Cerrig Gorffwys, the two watchful statues standing tall. Professor Gaunt shook his right foot, then began to lead the young girl to her suite of rooms where he told her to rest and wait until others arrived.

After a few hours, Hannah’s door flew open as Draco ran in. “You would not believe who we saw on our way here,” He yelled in greeting, startling his friend. “Myron Wagtail. Myron Wagtail is here … in the garden … talking to uncle Sev.”

“I’m assuming that’s important somehow,” Hannah replied, storing the ‘uncle Sev’ away for later.  
“Is that important? Do you mean to tell me you don’t know who Myron Wagtail is?” She gave him a blank look and raised her eyebrows, “He’s only the lead singer of the Weird Sisters, most influential rock band of the century. They made music an art form again.”  
“Are you feeling alright, Draco?” Hannah laughed. The boy made a gasping noise as he pulled his hair and bent his knees.  
“You just don’t understand. That’s it. We’re listening to as many songs of theirs as we can before the party starts.”

And they did. Draco was already dressed in his robes, so there was only a small period of time - when Hannah needed to get changed - were the girl was not listening to the wizarding band. It was a pleasant way to spend the early afternoon.

At a half past four, just before Hannah and Draco were to head down to the ball room, the door opened and reveled both Ron and Hermione, smartly dressed and smiling happily.  
“Ron? Hermione? What are you doing here?”   
“Why, I invited them, of course.” Draco said, lifting his nose up.  
“Just for the night though. Other family things on tomorrow” Hermione continued. Hannah shook her head and hugged the two newcomers.

“This is a nice Christmas.”

__oOoOoOo__

The ball was fun. Much to Draco’s and surprisingly Hermione’s delight, the Weird Sisters played for the first few hours. Once the food table emptied, the four of us went into the library where we talked and gossiped until the candles burned low. Hermione asked about the book in my letter, and for some reason, I told them the truth. Not the whole truth mind you, but enough for them to understand. Mr. Malfoy came to us in the early hours of the morning, and told us to return to either mine or Draco’s rooms. We split between them, as to avoid any awkwardness. In the morning, after breakfast, both Ron and Hermione were flooed home.


	18. Tali

Hannah and Draco were studying in the garden when it happened. The girl was working on an English essay, comparing muggle folklore to their wizarding counterparts, when she came upon a familiar story. While some details were different, the legend found in a musty old book was that of the serpent that fell in love with the moon. Hannah smiled sadly, feeling the paper between her fingers, and began to tell Draco Old Aunty Agnes’s version.

“I know that one. Though it’s not really a story. There’s an actual shape-shifter that lives there or something. Really reclusive. My Gran used to tell me that the shape-shifter ate children, though I think that was just so I wouldn’t go looking. I was a bit of a difficult child.”  
“Was?” Hannah mocked, registering what her friend had just told her.  
“Shush you.”

And the two fell into silence once more. But Hannah did not resume her assignment. Instead she began to run over the event of Mary’s disappearance in her head. The police had searched up to strange mountains and found nothing, but Hannah now knew that a concealment charm was no difficult thing to do. The girl had no doubt that her old friend had gone in search for the witch, had known that since the day she vanished. The new question though was whether or not she had arrived.

Hannah excused herself and walked to the library. Returning the books she had borrowed to their proper place, the girl then searched in the magical creatures section. There she found a small tome on wizarding owls and their navigation skills. With the knowledge she needed, Hannah then went about her day as usual, waiting for the darkness of night to come.

__oOoOoOo__

With a charmed cloak on and her Christmas pendent around her neck, Hannah sat and waited for the right time. Once the moon had risen to its peek, and Hannah was sure to be the only one awake, she snuck out into the hallway and towards the shed. The only broom not tucked away out of reach belonged to Professor Snape, and Hannah took a few minutes to decide on taking it. Once it was in her hands though, she snuck out of an old servants exit through the kitchens, and called her owl.

The bird appeared in a flurry of snow, and cooed at her master in confusion.  
“Lead me to here, girl,” Hannah said, lifting up a piece of parchment baring a basic illustration of the mountain, “I know you know where I mean.”

And the owl did know. Hedwig gave Hannah a small hoot of concern, but was shushed insistently. So, once the girl was seated on her broom and ready to take off, the owl made one last noise and took off.

The cold stung Hannah’s hands and face, but the cloak she wore kept her mostly comfortable. It was hard to keep her eyes on Hedwig with them both flying so fast and with the snow swirling about, but Hannah simply pulled herself closer to the cold wood and blinked only when absolutely necessary.

A small tug clenched her chest when they passed over a familiar town, and Hannah refused to look down at the charred remains of Baker Farm, no matter how hard it was to resist. And finally, after hours of cold and snow, both bird and girl landed in front of a small cottage at the base of the three-pointed mountain.

Hannah could feel the magic in the ground, the wards keeping the place hidden unless you knew where it was, and so she knew it was the right place. So without any thought, the girl rushed forwards and banged on the door. When no answer came she knocked again, and again, and again. On the fifth group, each louder than the previous, the door slammed open and revealed a naked and heavily tattooed woman.

“What is the meaning of this disturbance? Have you any idea what time it is?” The woman yelled, her mouth turned upwards in a snarl.  
“A year ago,” Hannah garbled, “Did a girl come here a year ago.” And Hannah gave the old woman a description of Mary, and told her of how she had gone missing.

The woman groaned tiredly before stepping back and ushering Hannah inside.  
“Sit.” She ordered, pointing to a rug by a lit hearth. “I’m making tea. You’re having tea.”  
“So, did she? Did Mary come here? Have you seen her?”

The woman grumbled, filling a pot with leaves and hot water.  
“Do you even know who I am?” She asked.  
“You’re the woman in the story, I’m guessing. Or at least Mary would have thought so. Just as I do.”

Carrying over the pot and two cups, the woman sat across from Hannah, entirely unashamed of her nakedness, and poured the tea.  
“I am Tali. Whatever story you have heard about me is irrelevant. I am the last resort for desperate people. Many come to me and ask for a miracle. Sometimes I help, and sometimes I don’t.”  
“I don’t underst-”  
“Don’t interrupt girl. Yes. One year ago a girl came to me, and like thousands before she asked me for my help. And like a hundred before, I did. She asked for a new start, so I turned her into a snake. Released her into the wild. She is long gone by now, and you will never find her.”

Hannah felt her chest squeeze and release. Alleviating a pain she had gotten used to. Mary was alive. Mary was alive and her mother had not abandoned them. Without those two pains weighing her down, Hannah began to weep.

“There must be a way to find her.” The girl hiccupped.   
Tali furrowed her brow and took a sip from her cup. “Yes, and no. I can give you a tool to assist you, but it will not guarantee success. It will more likely be more hassle than it’s worth.”  
“Please. I don’t care. Please, will you help me as well.”

With a small grumble, Tali tugged on her long white hair and stretched her toes. She was deep in thought, and her expression enhanced the dark tattoos on her skin. Suddenly, in a flash of black and white, Tali had pulled Hannah forwards and bit the girl across her throat. She was gone just as fast, and holding a warm hand over the bleeding wound, healing it with a gesture.

“What did you do?” Hannah asked, suddenly incredibly tired.  
“I gave you a gift, my dear. Or just as possibly, a curse. Either all.” The woman said while guiding the girl down. “I do hope your friend is worth with.”

Once Hannah was asleep, Tali covered her in a woolen blanket and began to search the girl for anything to identify her with. A serpentine smile crossed her lips when she saw the necklace, recognizing the Prince family crest branded into the stone. Without hesitation, she threw a small handful of powder into the fire and floo-called the only Prince member still alive.

__oOoOoOo__

Severus was grumpy when he was woken in the early hours of the morning. Angry, when he was told to come through the flame, and downright furious when he saw Hannah. With a quick ‘thank you’ to the ancient creature, the potions master scooped up the child and his broom and returned back to Cerrig Gorffwys.

After dropping Hannah into her bed, Severus pulled a chair over and sat in wait. Allowing himself to lull into a feather light sleep, the man listened out for any sign that the girl was awake, readying to yell her into the next year.

His chance came after a few hours, when the sun had completely filled the little room in yellow light. Hannah made a small grumble as she opened her eyes, rubbing away sleep and stray hairs. Severus watched with a dark frown but remained silent.

Hannah didn’t notice the extra presence for an unusually long time, no doubt due to her incredibly late and tiring night. But when she did, she released an involuntary squeak and lifted the blankets up to her chin.

“Long night?” The man said coldly, crossing his arms across his chest.  
“Oh…”  
“Oh? That is what you have to say for yourself? Oh? What were you thinking going off like that, without telling anyone where you were going?” He yelled, “You could have been hurt, could have died, could have gone missing, and no one would have known where to look. There is a whole list of dangerous possibilities that you just bludgeoned blindly into.”  
“Why do you care?” Hannah had said it to be an insult, but once the words were out she realized how true they were. Why did this man care? Care enough to scoop her the streets, organise for her to attend school, collect everything she would need, and buy her an owl. Why would it matter to him if she went missing or died? So she asked again, softer this time, and pressed her eyebrows together.  
“Why do you care?”  
“Because,” Severus began, then paused and dipped his head, “Did you know your mother and I were friends? I was teaching in Iraq at the time, at a small magical institution there. And because of the war with Iran, and the interventions of America, the floo network was shut down and I wasn’t allowed to leave. We exchanged owls though, so I knew all about you and your sister. Then the owls stopped coming and I was informed she had died. When I finally arrived home, I spent months looking for you and Laura. But I gave up. I had assumed you had died as well. If I had kept looking, I could have stopped whatever happened to you. I could have done something.”  
“It’s too late for regrets now, sir.” Hannah said quietly, pulling on her black hair.

The two were silent, until Severus stood and cracked his back. “You’ll be cleaning every cauldron in my laboratory. A good 15 of them.”  
“Yes sir.”  
“And don’t do anything so stupid again.”  
“Yes sir.” Hannah replied, but she smiled happily. And although she felt selfish, knowing that the potions master was her mother’s friend put her mind to rest, and allowed her to like to man much more than before.

So with a light heart, despite her scolding, Hannah got dressed and went down to the dining room for breakfast. On her way she was joined by Professor Gaunt and his snake, Nagini. The reptile, who was laying lazily along her masters shoulders, leaned over, poked her tongue out, then said, “I told you this one would be trouble.”

Hannah screamed, flailing her arms around her legs and hopped back to the wall. Professor Gaunt, who had been startled at the sudden outburst, had tripped himself onto the floor and was rubbing his sore head.

“When did your snake learn to speak human?” Hannah yelled, and at Professor Gaunts blank look began to stutter, “I can’t talk to snakes. Only you can talk to snakes.”

From around the corner walked Severus, who seemed uncaring of the chaos before him. “That’s what happens when you sneak off in the middle of the night and make deals with ancient Serpentine creatures who live in rural Ireland.”  
“You did what?” Gaunt sighed from the floor.  
“I didn’t make a deal. She just bit me.” Hannah yelled, “No strings or …permission.”  
“Too late to argue now.” Severus strode past, careful not to step on the long snake. “I’ll see you in my lab in half an hour. Try not to be late.”


	19. The Trap Door

There is a giant three-headed dog in the castle. I am not sure why I’m so surprised, but I am. Hermione claimed that it was standing over a trapdoor. I didn’t see that myself, but I trust her. So it’s a giant three-headed guard dog, which doesn’t improve matters. Hermione and I wanted to leave well enough alone, but Draco and Ron are determined to solve the ‘Mystery of the Cerberus’ as they have dubbed it.

__oOoOoOo__

Hagrid acting oddly was not uncommon; he was after all an odd man, but Hagrid acting oddly even for him was concerning. And he was acting most un-Hagridley. For one, he had receded his open door policy that was never used but appreciated by students nonetheless. Then, he stopped leaving his little home altogether, with the exception of chopping wood in his garden. And finally, he began closing his curtains and locking his door at all times.

While Hannah and the friendly giant could hardly be called friends, only exchanging pleasantries when they passed one another on the campus, his behavior was ringing alarm-bells in the girls mind. And she would no longer simply sit back and watch. So, on a still Saturday afternoon, after they had finished their week’s homework, the group of four first years wandered down to the solitary hut and banged on the door.

“Hagrid.” Hannah yelled between knocks.  
“Ah, not now. Come back later.” Was the response.  
“Please, Hagrid. Let us in. We’re worried about you.”

There was silence, then the sound of large heavy feet approaching. The door opened slightly with a creek, and the man’s large hairy head poked out. He looked at the children, then around them for a moment before sighing.  
“Oh, alright. Quickly now.” He said while moving to the side, giving them room to pass, “Sit down, I’ll put on some tea.”

The hut was warm, hot even, and Hannah had to take off her school jumper and cloak.  
“Are you alright, Hagrid?” Hermione asked.  
“Oh, yes, yes. I’m fine.” He said, placing several strangely shaped cakes onto a plate.

Draco was walking around, observing the small knick-knacks and oddities of the home, before pausing at the fireplace and gasping.  
“Hagrid,” He turned sharply at looked at the awkward man, “That’s a dragon egg. You’re hatching a dragon egg?”

Ron leaped up and ran over, peering into the pot with the enthusiasm of a much younger boy.  
“No way.” He awed, “That’s fucking awesome.”  
“Language.” Hermione said absentmindedly.

Hagrid was fidgeting now, looking at his plate of cake and bouncing it in his hands. Vulnerable was not a look Hannah had ever seen on his face, but there it was, shining for all to see. He looked like a child about to be scolded by his mother.  
“You won’t tell anyone, will ye’?”

The group shared a look, then from Hagrid to the large egg.  
“Hagrid…” Draco began.  
“We won’t tell. But you know you can’t keep it right?” Ron continued, “It’ll grow bigger that the hut. And you know they can’t be trained. Not enough to be safe in a school.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him, but said nothing. The large man sighed and slumped into a chair, a near pout spreading across has face.  
“Ye’re right, of course. But, I’ve always wanted a baby dragon.”  
“Were did you get it anyway?” Draco asked.

Here, the giant smiled cheekily and bit into one of the cakes. “I won it, of course. In a game of poker at the club.”  
“You can play poker?” Hannah said.  
“You can win poker?” Hermione said.  
“Not usually. But this guy was really drunk. He wanted one of my Hippogriff feathers. I felt so bad for him though, that I gave him the feather anyway. So I guess you could say I bought the egg.” The man was rambling now, talking more to himself than the students. But he was happy, and the four first years relaxed.  
“Oh? What did he look like?” Draco asked.  
“Bald, stringy. Very drunk.”  
The blonde boy looked disappointed at the response, and Hannah hoped to remember to ask him why later.

The group stayed for a while, talking and attempting to eat the rather nice but incredibly dense baked goods. Hannah was by the window with a lap full of drooling dog and a large cup of tea in her hands. It was nice, and the girl decided she would come visit more often. 

There was a break in the conversation when Hagrid popped out to get some more wood. It was then that Hannah noticed the open paper underneath the large table. Like most people her age, she cared little for dull news readings, but one article in particular was circled in thick ink. Shifting over, making the boarhound grumble in annoyance, Hannah reached down and lifted the thick paper. It was a few months old, and had been stepped and drooled on, crinkling the parchment.

“Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringots on 20 December,” Hannah began, “widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards of witches unknown, Gringots goblins today insist that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. “But we’re not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what’s good for you.” Said a Gringots spokesgoblin this afternoon.”   
Hagrid had returned in the middle of her reading and was putting a small log in the coals. “Do you know what was taken Hagrid?” Hannah asked.

“Oh yes,” He said absentmindedly, “That’d be the philosopher stone. Good thing too, as I got it out just in the nick of -.” The man paused and looked up, “I shouldn’t have said that. I should not have said that. Pretend you didn’t hear anything. It’s not important to ye’ anyway.” 

The children said nothing, but remembered the information. Conversation continued, and the first years left hours later for dinner, feeling satisfied and a little excited. Ron had demanded the giant let them know when the egg was hatching, so he could be there. Hagrid agreed.

“Do you think that’s what the dog is guarding?” Draco said as they approached the hall. “The philosopher stone?”  
“Perhaps, but it’s not important,” Hermione replied, “It’s safe, and not our problem.”  
“I suppose.”


	20. Guimar

Waking from a vivid dream that you can’t quite recall, when you also don’t remember falling asleep is both confusing and disorientating. So when Hannah opened her eyes, it took her a moment to realize that she was lying on a stone floor with Professor Gaunt and Mr. Filch looking down on her. The teacher seemed to sigh in relief and lower his shoulders, his lumos spell streaking the two men in dark shadows.

“How are you feeling, Miss Potter?” Professor Gaunt asked, helping her into a sitting position. Hannah looked around, attempting to find her bearings, and noticed that they were in a short corridor filled with broom closets. Trying to figure out where she was in the castle made her stomach roll, so she simply tucked in her legs and muttered, “I’m confused…”

“Do you remember what happened?” The caretaker asked.  
“I …” Hannah scrunched her nose, trying to piece together fragments of memory into a coherent form, “… was being led somewhere, by Laura, my sister. I was sleepwalking?”

Professor Gaunt sighed and helped Hannah to stand. He said goodbye to Mr. Filch then escorted the girl away, keeping her sleepy body upright. Rather than return her to her dorm, as she had expected, he instead took her to Madame Pomfrey. Hannah was placed in a hospital bed, where she would stay until mid morning – it being a weekend after all, and was forced to drink a small cup something overly sweet and thick. And when she closed her eyes she swiftly fell back to sleep.

The smell of roses came as a world materialized around her consciousness, forcing her into a vivid reality that she wasn’t sure was of her own making. An elegant garden was before her, enclosed by what appeared to be the center of a hedge maze. Surrounded by great oak trees, strange statues, and groups of colourful flowers, and in the center sat a gothic gazebo.

Without thinking, Hannah began to walk forwards, marveling at the clear sky and how a non-existent breeze gently swayed the greenery.  
“I was beginning to wonder when you would visit me.” Said an elegant voice.  
Hannah peered inside the structure and found a man there, sitting with his back to her, drinking from a beautiful teacup. Before him was a small round table draped in an embroidered cloth, and laden with a morning tea set that would put any host to shame.

“Come, sit. Have some tea. The cakes were made this morning, and I have a particular love for the grapes.” The man said, gesturing to a cushion-covered bench across from him. When the girl sat, she was finally able to see the stranger and found herself instantly admiring him. Ivory skin incasing vibrant eyes of whose colour could not be determined, and framed with long pale hair that fell down his back in waves. There was an oddness to him, the way his eyes were shaped, the length and thinness of his neck, how his long hands held his drink. He seemed to be emulating elegant fragility, but Hannah could tell that those hands would be able to snap her neck in an instant. And there was something else nagging at her, a sense of familiarity.

“Please, eat.” He said, but Hannah’s instincts were creaming at her not to, so she smiled politely and declined his offer.   
“I’m still quite full from dinner, sir. But thank you.”

He seemed momentarily irritated, but returned to complete calmness in a blink.  
“What is your name?” Hannah asked.  
“I have none, not yet.” Was his reply, smiling gently into his cup.  
“Why not?”  
“Because you have not named me.”  
“Why would I have to name you? You are much older than I am”  
“Ah,” He said standing and floating over to her side, “Because you are my mother. Or will be, and I have been very much looking forward to meeting you.”  
“What? Your mother?” Hannah squeaked, shuffling away. The man closed his eyes and smiled, wrapping one arm around her lower back and running the other through her hair, leaning in close to smell the strands.  
“Yes, you will be my mother.”  
“Am I pregnant?” Hannah asked, fear masking her face.  
“No, not yet. But you will be, your mark promises that.” And he touched her stomach, right where the strange tattoo stood. “And when you bring me into your world, I will bath you in glory.”

He gently cupped her cheek, his much larger body enclosing hers and kissed her forehead.  
“What are you?” She whispered, for this could not be normal.  
“I am King,” he said, “King of all that is here, and soon of all that is out there. And you will be my Queen. I have no need for a spouse, no need for an heir, so you will be my lady. Would you like that?”

He pressed his forehead to hers in a tender embrace. Hannah had never felt so cherished before, but it was a wrong feeling. As though she were his favorite doll, and he were promising to dress her in beautiful dresses and to brush her black hair.

There was a pull in her naval and the world began to distort and fade.  
“I’m looking forward to meeting you, mother. Give me a good name.” Hannah heard before her eyes snapped open to the empty hospital wing.

The light of dawn was filtering in through the wide window, and Hannah found that every second of her strange dream was imprinted on her memory, and the sense of familiarity would not leave her. She had seen that man before, but she could not recall where. 

So she lay there, under the soft blankets, and let her mind wander. It was a few hours later when the infirmary doors opened and in popped Hermione, her mad hair tied back into a pompom.

“The boy’s are still asleep,” She said in way of greeting, “How are you feeling?”  
“I’m fine, just a bout of sleepwalking. But I think Professor Gaunt is just a bit nervous after what happened last semester.”

Hermione nodded in understanding, sitting at the edge of Hannah’s bed, before opening up a small long-strapped bag with a rune decorating it’s front.  
“Well,” she began, reaching in much further than should have been possible, “I’m guessing you still have a while to wait, so I thought I’d give you another music lesson.” And she pulled out her old guitar with a book of learner songs. Hannah smiled happily and accepted the instrument.

The two swapped, Hermione demonstrating and Hannah following, back and forth for most of the morning, Madame Pomfrey only interrupting to give her patent breakfast and a quick checkup. Hannah’s release was swift, and she thanked her friend for coming so early in the morning.  
“Don’t be silly, it’s what friends are for.” Hermione laughed before saying the study-room password and entering the portal.

Inside by the fire, and bickering about the best quidditch teams, were Ron and Draco. The two continued on, only giving the two girls a brief greeting as they approached. Once the debate turned to name calling however, Hannah put her foot down.  
“Once again, you’re making it sound like we’re the main characters of some cheesy teenage literature story. If you don’t stop, I’m going to have to give you angsty nicknames. I’ll call you,” She pointed to Ron, “Raven.”  
“But that doesn’t make any sense with my colouring. I have red hair.”  
“And you,” Hannah pointed to Draco, “will be Amethyst.”  
“But I’m a boy.” Draco said loudly.  
“Shut up, Amythist.” Hannah replied, moving to sit in one of the lounges.  
“Fine. We’ll stop arguing. Just don’t call us those ridiculous names.” Ron muttered.

Hannah nodded triumphantly and opened her potions textbook.  
“How are you, by the way?” Draco said while opening his bag, “We heard you were in the hospital again last night.”  
“Sleepwalking.”  
“Sleepwalking?” The boy laughed, “Well, I found something that may cheer you up … or weird you out. It freaked me right out.”

With a small grunt he pulled out a large volume bound in pale leather and decorated in both jewels and bones.  
“What is it?” Hermione asked before Hannah could.  
“Remember that book you wanted us to find? Well, my father pulled a few strings, paid a few middlemen, and voila. I give you, Lalassu Babu. One of a kind, and the most unpleasant book I’ve ever had the misfortune of touching. And that’s saying something.”

Hannah leaped up and hugged her friend tightly, thanking him three times before turning her attention to the ancient tome.  
“What sort of leather is this?” Hermione asked, a frown on her face.  
“Erm, well,” Draco coughed, “that would be … long pork.”  
“What?”  
“Homo humanus. Well … homo sapien? Human. It’s human leather.”

Hermione retracted her hand in a flash, holding it next to her face as her lips twisted in disgust.

__oOoOoOo__

The book is the disturbing grimoire of an ancient wizard named Guimar Forman. Among the many pages are details of sacrificial rituals, old magic law, and numerous summoning spells. Drawings of horrific monsters are frequent, each accompanied by a detailed description. There are small blood and dirt stains on most mages, making some passages illegible.

There is a large section dedicated to something called ‘The hall of the Demiurge’, also containing summoning and sacrificial rituals, most notably ‘Saturn’s Arch’ and ‘the 7 acolyte’s’. These pages are detailed, and marked by a fraying gold ribbon. Hermione and I will search for any references of these names in other books.

__oOoOoOo__

“This is odd.” Hermione said.  
“What is?” Draco leaned down and read over the girls shoulder, saying the words quietly to help him understand. The page was covering the summoning of ‘Saturn’s Arch’, which was more theory than not, and filled with numerous symbols that could not yet be determined.  
“…among the base materials,” Draco said in a monotone, “the veil’s skin shall be far more easily pierced with the assistance of the philosopher’s stone, of which I have nearly divulged the secret to creating.” Draco paused, considering, then turned his sharp eyes to Hannah.  
“That can’t be a coincidence.” Ron said, “Hannah has a dream about a book, we find out that someone had tried to steal the philosopher’s stone, then we find out that the book Hannah wanted us to find has some creepy bookmarked ritual that requires that same stone… . Nah’ah. No way that’s a coincidence.”  
“So what, we think someone’s trying to steal the stone to summon this Arch character?” Draco said.  
“I think we’re grasping at straws here, guys.” Hannah sighed, but the frown on her face told the others that she was thinking about the possible not-coincidence as well.


	21. The Whelp

Morning post, as the title suggests, comes in the mornings at exactly 7:30 Monday to Friday. Occasionally, the odd letters come to students at random times throughout the day, usually howlers or birthday parcels. So no one was entirely shocked when a tattered owl flew over to Hannah, Ron and Hermione at the Gryfendor table during dinner, and dropped a small rolled piece of parchment. Feeling curious eyes on them however, they decided to open the letter in privacy. So they finished their meals quickly, Ron taking horribly large bites and packing some dessert away in a napkin, before gesturing to Draco to meet them outside.

Once together, Hermione unrolled the parchment with quick fingers and displayed the spidery scrawl inside. ‘It’s Hatching’.  
“Yes! We’re going right? ‘Cos if you’re not, I sure am.” Was Ron’s enthusiastic reply.  
“I’ll race you.” Hannah laughed, looking at Draco.  
“Oh please. A Malfoy would never stoop so low as to – Hey. I wasn’t ready.”

And the group of four raced away, out the doors, across the bridge, and down to Hagrid’s hut. They only had to knock once before the door was quickly opened, and the four students were pulled inside.

Hagrid was a mess, more so than usual. The heat inside had made his frizzy hair stand up as though he were some mad hater without a hat, and he had beads of sweat sticking to his forehead and beard. Around the hut were barrels of brandy and gallons of imported chickens blood, which were being stored with standard cooling runes on the containers. To wrap it all up in a large gift basket were the large quilted mittens covering his hairy hands, and a laced pink apron covered his stomach. Having already closed the door and walked away, the giant was hopping from one foot to the other by the fireplace were the dragon egg was making the occasional rattle and shake.

The children shuffled past the mess and onto the couch, where they were squished but out of the way and with a good view of the happenings. The egg’s rattling came faster and faster with Hagrid counting the difference, until the man reached into the pot and pulled out the hot egg, huffing at the temperature, and placed it onto the table.

The sound was constant now, as though the little dragon was trying to squirm its way out rather than peck – which it might well have been doing. Until with a small explosion of shell and slime came out the tiny creature. The Whelp shook her head and released a small trill. When she looked up, it was right into the big brown eyes of the friendly giant.

Hagrid sniffed loudly, and wiped his teary eyes.  
“Isn’ he beautiful?” He said, leaning forwards. The Whelp sneezed, and burned the bottom of the man’s beard.

The students watched as Hagrid fell in love with his little baby dragon, remaining silent from where they sat.  
“What will you name him?” Hannah asked.  
“I don’t know. I had a few named marked down, but none of them work.”

A bucket of chickens blood and brandy was placed before the little creature, and she practically leaped inside in her enthusiasm, gulping down the mixture with pleasant squeaks and purrs, until with a little burp she fell down and had a nap.

Hagrid made a large pot of tea, watching his little hatchling through the corner of his eyes, and filled a plate with more of his rock cakes. Together with his young friends, they ate and talked quietly. Rain began to patter onto the roof, making a rhythmic sound that woke the Whelp and seemed to put her into a playful mood. The children and giant sat back and watched in amusement as her little body leaped about, attacking random objects like a kitten.

Time flew fast, and it was past curfew when Hannah saw something in the window. Peering out, she met the cocky eyes of Pansy Parkinson, who smirked then ran off into the darkness.   
“Oh, no.” Hannah groaned, “We need to go. Now.”

The group of four said a hasty goodbye before they began the damp run back to the castle. Not risking a lumos spell, knowing a teacher would be on them instantly if they did, the group simply held each other’s hands when going over the treacherous parts of the path. Once they crossed the bridge, they turned to the left and towards the greenhouses. Like the main doors, the greenhouse entrance to the castle was usually unlocked, and wasn’t normally patrolled.

They snuck in successfully and began to weave their way to the grand staircase, avoiding the ghosts and gossiping portraits. There was a moment when Mrs. Noris had them cornered, but Hannah was able to bribe the clever cat with treats she kept in her pockets, ever thankful that the feline liked her.

When they stepped onto the ever-changing mass of steps, the group released a collective sigh of relief.   
“That was unnerving. Worth it though.” Draco whispered.  
“Oh? Was it?” Came a voice none of them wanted to hear, “Good evening students. Did you have a pleasant stroll? Well, then I’m sure you won’t mind if I ask you to continue it down to my office.”

Professor Snape was waiting for them on the landing above, arms crossed and with Pansy Parkinson behind. His lit wand was illuminating his downturned mouth and raised eyebrows, making him a figure none wanted to cross.

They followed without complaint in complete silence, and winced when the potions master closed his office door with a quiet click. The man said nothing. He floated over to his desk and sat down, pulling out a long black quill and began to write. The scratching sound of the quill’s nib filled the room and made the four students squirm. The female Slytherin was leaning off to the side, a face showing how overly proud of herself she was.

Professer Snape stopped, placed his quill in its stand, and crossed his hands in front of him.   
“I do not believe I need to explain what it is you did wrong. Therefore, I will simply remove 50 points from the five of you, and say that you all will be having detention with Mr. Filch tomorrow night.”  
“Pardon me, Sir,” Pansy said with a frown, “I must have heard you wrong. I thought I heard you say the Five of you”  
“You heard me correctly, Miss Parkinson. You were also, after all, out past curfew. Were you not? You five will meet the caretaker immediately after dinner tomorrow, outside the great hall.”

With those words, the man stood and silently escorted the students to their dorms.

The next day went as usual, though the four friends were slightly anxious about what their detentions would involve. So they lumbered around, and waited until the very last moment before leaving dinner. Outside the hall, Mr. Filch was already waiting, his loyal cat in his arms and a pouting Pansy at his side. Her round face was scrunched up in displeasure as she clutched her school bag tightly. At Hannah’s approach, the grumpy man gave her a disapproving look and raised his bushy brows.  
“Well. Come along now.” And he led them out, illuminating the path with a small oil lantern.  
“You’ll be serving your detention with Hagrid tonight. He has a few errands to run in the Dark Forest.”  
“What?” Draco squeaked, “But we’re not allowed in there. It’s filled with monsters and … werewolves.”  
“Don’t worry Draco,” Hagrid appeared from inside his hut, “You’ll be quite safe.”  
“Evening Hagrid. I’ll leave this lot with you then. Try not to get eaten.” Mr. Filch said, before he turned and walked back to the castle. 

The giant man led them inside the dense forest and towards an open clearing filled with bark and long tree roots.  
“Something’s been attacking unicorns. So, we’re going to split into two groups, and try to find out what. Ron, Hermione, you’ll be with me. And Hannah, Draco, and Pansy, you’ll be following the other path. Take Fang with you. He knows his way.”  
The boarhound grumbled, and wandered over to the three students. Draco was handed a lantern, and the group of six divided and went in opposite directions. 

The darkness was overwhelming, but in her current company, Hannah felt no fear. She listened to the sound of wind rustling the canopy, and then of Draco and Pansy talking quietly, although arguing would be a more appropriate title for it.  
“No. You’ve abandoned us, Draco. Just admit it.”  
“I have done so such thing. And it’s of no concern to you who I spend my time with anyway.”  
“Not my concern? Do you have any idea how -”

And the circular argument continued. Hannah found herself slowly drifting further and further away, neither wanting to intrude in on their argument, or have to listen to it. She was careful not to let them out her sights however, leaving only one tree between them at any point. But of course, as one would expect of someone with Hanna’s luck, something shiny caught the girl’s attention for a moment too long. And while Hannah turned right to investigate the pool of silver liquid, Draco and Pansy followed the natural curve of the path to the left.

“What on earth?” Hannah said, kneeling down and poking at the puddle with a stick. A small tuft of glowing white fur floated in the center, attached to a layer of skin, and the girl cringed at it. “The unicorns? Is this… unicorn blood?”

Believing to have found a useful sign for Hagrid to follow, Hannah stood up to get the attention of the others only to find herself completely alone. The slight glow of the unicorn blood had given her the false illusion of Draco’s lantern, and she now felt like kicking herself for her carelessness.

“Draco.” She called, “Pansy?”  
“Well this isn’t good.” Laura said, sitting on a tree branch. Hannah paid her no mind.

__oOoOoOo__

Egraine used to tell us – Laura and I – about the will-o'-wisp’s that would lure travelers away to be lost and forgotten. I hadn’t given it much consideration at the time, but having been separated from my group and with a trail of glowing unicorns blood being my only path, I realize I should have given the stories more credit.  
I also learned that unicorn blood only glows for a short time, so I ended up following the silver path simply to stay in light – not willing to risk the brightness of lumos in such a dangerous place. I reasoned that I could find and climb a large tree, and send a signal from there.

__oOoOoOo__

The sound of a horses cry drove Hannah into a run, bursting into a dark clearing without grace or forethought. There, a figure hidden by a black cloak was standing over a fallen unicorn, a simple blade in hand. The creature looked to Hannah and gave a pathetic mewling whine, fear in its eyes.   
Before Hannah had any idea of what she was doing, or that she was doing anything, the girl had run up and body slammed the figure to the ground, a war cry coming from her lips.

Her and the stranger rolled along the forest floor from the momentum of the launch, giving the unicorn enough time to struggle up and escape.   
“You always were an annoying child” Came a chilling voice, making Hannah freeze.  
Long spidery fingers reached up and removed the black cloak, reveling the familiar and impossible face of Augustus Quain, whom Hannah had stabbed through the head the previous year, and had then left his body to be devoured by flame.

“You didn’t even make me a grave. Quite rude of you, my dear.” He mocked, straightening up a leather glove. “Do understand; I’m only following orders. I get no personal satisfaction from any of this.”

“Hannah.” Laura screamed from nowhere, “Hannah, get up. Get away. You need to get away.” The panicked voice gave way to shrieking, constant and loud.

Hannah’s mind was stuttering, placing memories in front of memories, and making them overlap in the waking world. Then Augustus was on top of her and throwing her wand away, removing her skirt with more swiftness than Mr. Kain had had. The girl kicked just as hard though, and managed to wiggle free, only to have the man grip her thighs – and in an instant – shatter both bones.

Her skirt was gone, as were her underwear, her face pushed into the dirt, muffling her cream of pain. And Hannah kept screaming, hoping beyond hope that someone would help her. Augustus knew that someone might, so he reached down in the middle of undressing and pressed against her back, and with that same skill, broke 4 of her rips.

Hannah was quiet, and scared. She reached up and grabbed at her pendant with a white grip, expecting it to shatter under the strain. With no more cards to play, she closed her eyes and willed her mind to take her away. She could hear the man moving his cloak around and feel him shuffle closer, and hands were grasping at her cheeks and spreading her open. But then the pressure was gone, replaced by the sounds of heavy thumping and screeching.

“Little girl?” Hannah looked up at the gentle voice, and marveled at the old centaur before her. There were more of them around too, each huffing and flexing their muscles in a circle around her. Augustus was nowhere in sight.

“Hannah.” The cry came from not too far away, and was followed by several others. The voices of her friends. She opened her mouth to call out, but her splintered ribs pushed dangerously against her lungs. The adrenaline was slowly leaving her too, abandoning her with the pain of her broken bones, as well as a great stinging from the strange mark on her stomach. Greyness was swiftly creeping into her eyes, pulling her consciousness away on a rocky boat.

When Hannah woke the first time, it was to beg Madame Pomfrey – whom she believed was Egraine – for her sewing kit. She would not relent, holding onto the woman’s blouse and repeating herself over and over, until the nurse gave in and went to the textiles teacher for some needle and thread. By the time she returned, Hannah was once again unconscious in her usual bed of the hospital-wing.

The second time the girl woke; it was to the light of a full moon reflecting of the white walls. The needle and spool were sitting on the bedside table. Hours later, Madame Pomfrey walked in to see Hannah slowly stitching runes into the seams and tags of her uniform – which had been folded and left on a nearby chair.

The young witch no longer referred to people by their actual names, but by those of people unknown to most. Mr. Filch was able to provide further insight when he visited, telling the medi-witch about what he knew of the events at Baker Farm. She called in Mrs. Malfoy that evening, and bid her to stay for a few days.

Professors Snape, Gaunt, McGonagall, and Dumbledore each paid the girl visits during the few days after the attack, but Hannah was hardly aware of their presence – busy as she was watching Mrs. Baker out of a window that didn’t exist.

“Laura?”  
“Hm?”  
“Did we remember to lock the stables last night?”  
“…”  
“Trevor will be grumpy if we didn’t. We’ll have to make him some biscuits or something.”  
“… I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

Mrs. Malfoy watched from the corner of the room as Hannah spoke to the end of her bed, here eyes dark and distant.

__oOoOoOo__

Egraine doesn’t want us doing any housework. I wonder how she got Mrs. Baker to agree, but I’m not complaining. Its nice lounging around with Laura all day. If feels like a long time since we’ve done it.  
Mary, Toby and Trevor came to visit us, although they looked different; Perhaps hair cuts or sunshine. It’s coming on summer after all. They gave us chocolates and other sweets, but Laura didn’t want any so they were left closer to me.

-

I’m awake now. Properly awake, I think. Mrs. Malfoy says the blood on the floor isn’t there though, so some of me must still be asleep. By bones are already healed, but Madame Pomfrey doesn’t want me discharged yet.

-

Laura’s head keeps on falling off and rolling under the beds, and Trevor and Mags are too decomposed to help look. Henry tried, but he’s stuck to Toby and the younger boy is in a grumpy mood.

-

Hermione brought in a flute today. Something new to keep me occupied, she said. She also brought in this week’s notes and homework tasks for me to compete. Who sets a five-foot essay on Hinkypunk’s? They’re only interesting because of their connection to will-o'-wisp’s and jack-o-lantern’s, and even then that’s not a lot to write about.

__oOoOoOo__

Hannah opened her eyes to the strange hedge maze garden. Once again, a gentle wind blew through and shifted the greenery, showcasing the clear blue sky. This time however, she was already sitting in the gothic gazebo with the ethereal man sitting before her.

He was lounging among the numerous pillows, reading a thick book with no visible title. After a moment, he carefully closed the pages and placed it at his side, sitting up into a more vertical position.

“My dear mother, do you not wish to meet me?” He said, his eyes saddened.   
“Hannah, doesn’t he look familiar?” Laura said, materializing at her sister’s side.  
“Leave lalartu. You are not welcome here.” The man stood, and pressed his hands onto the table.  
“Think Hannah.” Laura urged.  
And Hannah thought deeply, scrunching her nose as she scrutinized his beautiful face.

“I said leave. I’ll not have you interfering.” And in the millisecond of him showing slight anger, Hannah saw it; His eyes changing to hold three irises. She leaped back in fright, gasping when Laura vanished with a pop, and fell onto the ground.

The man huffed and knelt by her side, his long starlight hair falling to touch her shoulder.  
“Come now, mother. Don’t look at me like that.”  
“I am not your mother.” Hannah yelled and shuffled back, “I will never be your mother.” She watched warily as the other retook his seat among the cushions, crossing his long legs at the knees.   
“Oh, you poor sweet thing. You don’t have much of a choice I’m afraid.” He clicked his fingers and leaned further back. A black door appeared, attached to nothing, and opened smoothly. From an inky darkness within emerged Mr. Kain and Mr. Baker, both naked and chained at the feet. They hobbled over to the King and knelt down. He pulled them closer like a caring lover and stroked their hair.  
“You see my dear, free will is such a fickle thing. Taken so easily. Andrew, break your fingers.” He said softly.

Without hesitation, Mr. Kain systematically snapped each of his fingers at the center, using his feet for the last two.

“You don’t seem to care?” He asked, seeing Hannah’s blank face, “You should. After all, these aren’t the big bad meanies that raped poor Mrs. Kain and little Mary. No. It had to be a convincing performance after all, so I had them swapped. I wonder what I could do if I swapped you?”

He pulled Mr. Baker over and cradled him to his chest. “I could keep you here, have one of my servants fill your belly with enough children for an army. I could have your replacement do unspeakable damage as well. You are well loved after all, and surrounded my so many vulnerable magical children. The potential. Yes, that will do nicely.”

The beautiful garden was gone, replaced by a cold hall before an elevated throne. The king was lounging across, playing with Mr. Baker’s hair while Mr. Kain was sitting a meter away. And like the statue in the farm basement, dark spiked armor covered him near completely, including a dark crown that continued down and framed his elegant face.

To either side and down the hall were giant pillars that held up a ceiling so high it could not be seen, and each baring a lit brazier. The flames illuminated the faces of countless creatures and people that Hannah realized were eyeing her impassively. 

“Moryn.” The king called, and a small female walked forwards without sound.

There was a moment of silence before the female lunged forward and reached for Hannah’s face. But before anything could happen, the female creature screeched horridly and leaped away, holding her melting hand.

“Hannah. It’s time to leave.” Laura was back and forcing her twin to her feet. The dream faded away much faster than before, and to the sound of an irritated yell. Soon, Hannah was opening her eyes and a rush of relief filed her mind.

“Hey. Are you with us? We lost you there for a moment. You passed out in the middle of your breakfast.” The soothing voice of Madame Pomfrey calmed her further, and she smiled at the woman as she sat up. 

“I’m fine, Mrs. Pomfrey.” And somehow, she was. Returning to that strange place had allowed her mind to process the events of the forest, and of the dream, without her being front and center. It was slightly unnerving to look back on something so recent as though it were a decade gone, but she figured it was for the best.

Ron joined Hannah in the hospital wing with a bright purple hand, and politely told his friend that her flute playing was ‘bloody shit’. She replied that she was just learning, and threw a handful of mashed potato at his head. Thus starting a very small food battle.

“Hagrid’s named the whelp Norbert.” He said once the mess was cleaned and both patients were back in their beds. “I think he’s gone a bit nutters.”  
“Hagrid or Norbert?”  
“… Both? Both.” Ron said with a smile.  
“Is that why the dragon bit you?”  
“Ah,” The boy sighed and scratched his cheek. “I was helping Hagrid feed him and sneezed. When it bit me, Hagrid told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit.”

He sighed dramatically and flopped back onto his pillow.  
“Anyway, I’ve organized for Norbert to be taken to a dragon sanctuary by one of my brothers. Hagrid’s sad, but he’ll get in trouble if Norbert stays. And the thing’s getting dangerous.”

__oOoOoOo__

Mrs. Malfoy has deemed me stable enough to be discharged, but Madame Pomfrey want’s to keep me one more night. Ron will be released tomorrow as well, which is lucky because we’re sneaking Norbert out tomorrow night.


	22. Augustus Quain

Ron and Hannah met Hermione and Draco in the library after they were given Madame Pomfrey’s stamp of approval. They had a few hours to wait before dinner, after which they would wait in Hagrid’s hut until midnight. Hermione was determined to catch her friend up on their classwork after two and a half weeks away, of which Draco would also help. So with a newly learned silencing charm placed around the group of four, the blonde aristocrat placed a wizarding music player on the table and began to play The Weird Sisters quietly, and the group submerged themselves into their textbooks.

Laura was watching from her seat on a bookshelf, swinging her legs in time to the music and playing with her long hair. Every now and then she would hop down and read over Hannah’s shoulder, before returning to her perch. And if the others noticed Hannah look up at a particular spot, or watch invisible movement every now and then, they didn’t mention it.

The first of many homework tasks had just been completed when another group approached and sat with them at the table. Ron looked peeved but remained silent, contrasting with Hermione’s polite smile.  
“Hannah, you remember my childhood friends: Blaize Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and then Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe.” The boy gestured to each as he said their names, and Hannah smiled in greating.

She had wondered what had come of Draco’s argument with Pansy, and she supposed the two groups mingling was a good result. It was awkward at first, and Hannah sensed that Ron was feeling outnumbered – surrounded by people from a different Kingdome to himself. But with Nott and Hermione matching in studiousness, and Crabbe and Goyle liking the same team as Ron, awkwardness soon fell out the window.

“Well, they seem to be surviving each other.” Hannah whispered to Draco, watching Pansy laugh at Hermione and Knott.  
“Somehow,” He smiled, “I invited them to come study with us after the forest. I wasn’t expecting them to actually come though.”  
“Did you have a falling out with them?”  
“No, not really. We were never close friends to begin with. We simply spent time together because our parents are friends. But this is nice.”

Hannah laughed and pulled out her journal.  
“Hey. I recognize that.” Draco said.  
“Well, yeah. Your mother gave it to me, and I’ve had it in front of you before.”  
“She did? You have? Why did my mother give you a diary?”  
“… Because she’s my mind healer,” Hannah whispers, “I though you knew that?”  
“No. I had no idea. My mother is big on patient confidentiality. She would never say anything.”  
“Oh.” Hannah smiled and stroked the books cover, gratitude sinking in further for the blonde woman. She decided she would send her some ‘thank you’ flowers, or chocolates later, when she could go down to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.

There was another loud laugh, this one from Blaize. “They don’t know about the dragon, right?” Hannah whispered in Draco’s ear.  
“Christ, no.”

__oOoOoOo__

With dinner long finished and midnight fast approaching, the four students watched as Hagrid wept over his baby dragon. It was a sweet scene; the giant wrapping the whelp in blankets upon blankets, feeding her chicken and pig meat, and all with big wet tears dripping from is chin.

For the first time that year, Hannah had pulled out her invisibility cloak to use. She wasn’t overly fond of another detention, and decided that filling in her friends about the garment was worth it. Hagrid wasn’t surprised at all, and began to regale them with tales of Hannah’s father during his schooling years, obviously trying to distract himself from Norbert’s fast approaching departure. Hannah didn’t mind however, simply glad to hear something of her parents.

Eventually however, the whelp was put to sleep - in a non-fatal manor – and placed in a large basket, still wrapped in her warm blankets and with her favorite toy. She was heavy, and each of the students had to grab a corner in order to support her efficiently. With one final goodbye, Hagrid covered the four in the invisibility cloak and opened his door.

For the dragon bearers, the path was fortunately illuminated by the full moon, making the journey to the castle much more pleasant than the last time. They didn’t worry about being caught in the schools foyer, so they opened the large wooden doors and crept towards the grand staircase.

Occasionally the little dragon would snore or sneeze, making the group halt and hold a collective breath. When they were not caught, and Norbert shushed again, they continued on their way. Without needing to sneak in shadows or avoid every sound, they managed to reach the astronomy tower remarkably quickly, and found Ron’s elder brother and a coworker already waiting. They were floating over the railings on bulky brooms, obviously designed to carry mass. Before the students walked out into the moonlight and revealed themselves, Hannah reached up and pulled the cloak off, kicking it between a chest and the stairs.

“Quickly now, attach him to our brooms would you.” Charlie said on seeing the four approach.

With great effort, and a lot of grunting, the Whelp was successfully linked between the two brooms, and a charm placed over her to endure she wouldn’t fall out. Then all too soon, the dragonologists bid them farewell and flew off into the night.

“Oh hi, Ron. It’s nice to see you, Ron. How is school going, Ron? How are your classes, Ron? Asshole.” Ron muttered to himself as they returned to the cloak. Draco laughed and patted the others back, then realized what he was doing and tried to pretend that he had tripped.

Quiet conversation continued until they landed at the bottom of the astronomy tower, where the sound of distant footfalls hushed them in an instant.

Professors McGonagall and Gaunt wandered past, speaking quietly as they went about their rounds. Once they were far enough away to not hear the student’s footsteps, the four darted off in the opposite direction and down a mostly unused corridor. Closets and alcoves sat along the two walls, each showing signs of disuse by housing more rats and spiders than supplies.

A light flickered from behind one of the closed doors, and had Hannah not been looking there at that exact moment, it would have been missed.  
“You’re going to look into that this time, right?” Laura asked with her arms crossed, “you’re not asleep this time, so I suppose that helps.”

“Hannah? What are you doing?” Hermione hissed as her friend left the safety of the cloak and snuck over to a wooden closet door. A quiet unlocking spell made the lock click, and the door opened without another sound. The foul stench of rotting flesh assaulted their noses as the students shuffled inside the small space.  
“What is that smell?” Gasped Ron.

Hannah sighed sadly and looked down at where the body of a house elf had been roughly stashed between a bottom shelf and the floor. Her face had been neatly cut away, showing off pale bones and blunt teeth. The girl swiftly covered the small creature with a dusty white cloth and stood.

The candle, which had given the place away, was burning happily on a small inventory desk, dripping wax onto old stock records. A stack of parchment sat to the right, held down by a closed inkbottle and a rugged quill. Draco picked the top parchment up and felt along its surface.  
“There’s indents in this. I can find out what the one above had said … if you think it’s important?” He said with a raised eyebrow, looking over at Hannah while swishing the paper. The girl nodded.  
Draco pulled out his wand and whispered a silly sounding incantation before blowing hard along the creamy surface. Slowly, ink appeared and began to flow down the page, trapped by small indentations and the parchments own memory until an official looking letter revealed itself, complete with a stamp and signatures. 

“Dear Dumbledore yadda yadda … presence is greatly required in the Department of Muggle Affairs. We shall expect you tomorrow morning … . There’s a fancy signature at the bottom with todays date.” Draco said.

“This must be who’s trying to steal the stone,” Ron gasped, “and they’ve given themselves an opening.”  
“We have to warn the headmaster.” Hermione said, already opening the door.  
“Office hours are closed and we don’t know where the teachers dorms are. We have to wait until tomorrow.”  
“What about Filch?” Draco asked.  
Hannah thought on that for a moment, but the man’s disappointed look the last time she had broken school rules was enough to rule him out. So she shook her head and joined Hermione by the door, “Tomorrow morning. We’ll wake early, meet in front of Dumbledore’s office and get to him before he leaves.”


	23. Saturn’s First Acolyte

The sun hadn’t yet risen when the four woke and dressed for the day. Draco had ended up sleeping down on the Gryfendor common room couch, with a ward hiding him from any late night walkers. Then they watched as the grandfather clock ticked away the minutes, sprinting for the door when it stuck 6am – when curfew ended and the next day officially begun.

The Fat Lady gave out a protesting yelp as her portrait was roughly opened and slammed with a bang. The students gasped an apology as they raced down the stairs, skipping more than safe and nearly tripping or twisting their ankles numerous times. Soon they found themselves panting before the headmaster’s guard Griffin statue.

“Headmasters out.” It said loudly, wiggling a back leg.   
“What? When?” Hannah yelled.  
“You just missed him. Left by flu about … oh … a minute and a half ago. He’ll be back later though so don’t stress. I can make you an appointment.” The statue looked taken aback when Hannah released a loud frustrated yell and stormed off, followed closely by her three companions.  
“Or not.” It muttered and curled back up for a nap.

They ran to Severus next, banging on his office door loudly and not entirely politely, all while yelling out his name. When the man opened his door he was not given a change to yell at the students before he was bombarded with shouts.

“Professor, we don’t have time to explain! But we know about the Philosophers Stone, just as we know that someone is trying to steal it, like right now!” Ron raced, his statement being chorused and repeated by the others.

Severus’ face went from confused to calm in an instant, successfully hiding away any thoughts he was having.  
“Now children,” He said, lowering his head to look them each in the eye, “I should like to now how you came by such information, but for now, rest easy with the knowledge that the stone is completely safe and guarded by several layers of magic. Now off with you. Go have some breakfast and enjoy the weekend.”

And with a simple turn, the professor closed the door and left the four alone.

“Now what?” Hermione muttered, a deep frown marring her face.  
“Professor Gaunt.” Draco replied, taking lead of the group, “He’s our next best bet. And if he won’t listen then we go to Professor McGonagall.”

Irritatingly enough though, was that both Professors McGonagall and Gaunt were together in the latters office, organizing and looking over lesson plans, and neither would pay the students any heed.

“As Professor Gaunt has already told you. The stone is neither your concern nor in any danger.” And the elder witch sent them off without another word.

The four students stood outside the closed office doors for a moment, frustrated beyond all count.  
“They won’t listen. Why aren’t any of them listening?” Hannah choked.

“We can’t let Augustus get the stone, Hannah. Especially if it’s for that King.” Laura squatted down and bit her thumb. The other three said nothing, and Hannah supposed it was because they had only heard her own comment, and had no answers for it.

More minutes passed in silence, suffocating them in indecision before Hermione released a frustrated sigh. “We go down ourselves, and stop whoever this thief is now, without help.”

No one argued, or even questioned that it was by-the-book Hermione who had made the call.

__oOoOoOo__

Hagrid had accidently told them how to get past the giant Cerberus, not that that made the task any less horrifying, but it made things easier.

“You can do it Hermione. And if we’re not back in half an hour then get one of the Professors.” Hannah soothed, patting her friends back and nodding encouragingly.  
“I’m having a mental blank. Not a single song is coming to mind,” Hermione barked.  
“London bridge is falling down.” Ron began, ignoring the raised brows. Hermione sniffed self-consciously and continued the nursery rhyme in a shaky but clear voice. There was a loud thump, and then loud snoring began leaking from behind the creepy door on the 3rd floor corridor. Draco opened the latch and the four went inside.

Hermione was left by the window, under the invisibility cloak, and watched as her three friends vanished inside a large trap door. She had wanted to yell them good luck, but was too scared to stop in her singing, so she settled for thinking it as loud as she could.

“She’ll be alright, right?” Ron asked after a squishy landing. But rather than a reassuring answer or friendly reply, he was struck in the head with a mild hex, instantly knocking him unconscious. 

“Hannah, what the fuck?” Draco yelled. The girl scratched her chin sheepishly and looked away.

“We’ve landed in Devil Snare, and telling Ron to be calm would have had the exact reverse effect.” She muttered. Draco was about to lecture her when she was lowered, vanishing from view and followed by a sleeping red head, leaving the young Malfoy alone in the slimy plant.

“Stupid, stupid … bah.” They boy muttered before closing his eyes and relaxing. After a moment he was lowered down and dropped a few meters onto a dirt floor.

“Friends don’t shoot friends with stunners.” Was the sound that greeted him.  
“I’m really sorry. It was the only thing I could think of. I don’t know any calming spells, and I can’t remember how to get rid of Devil Snare.”  
“But I was perfectly calm.” Ron yelled, pulling at his hair.  
“But you wouldn’t have been once you realized where we were, and I couldn’t risk you being strangled to death.”

Draco coughed to gain his friends attention and raised an eyebrow.   
“I’m almost positive that this can wait until we’re back up in the sunlight. Don’t you think?”  
“Fine. But we will be talking about it.” Ron yelled as he stormed off, followed closely by Hannah and Draco. The blond boy gave Hannah a look, but she shushed him and blushed in either shame or embarrassment. 

The tense moment was hastily forgotten with the sound of thousands of wings smacking and flickering together from a room not far away. After walking down a wide corridor with an unusual amount of twists and turns, the three students stumbled upon a large arched wooden door. The flittering noise was louder now, and sounding more like a cloud of bats.

“Lady’s first.” Ron sniffed.  
“Guess he’s still angry.” Laura said as her sister took ahold of a large steel handle and pulled.

Inside was a tall spherical room, held upright by numerous oddly placed wooden beams that splintered the light and made the space look eerie. Up amongst the higher beams spun thousands of small flying keys, each glittering and squeaking as they moved. The final oddness of the space came from the presence of an old broom, standing alone directly between them and another wooden door. 

Hannah led the way, striding over to the exit and attempting to open it. She wasn’t surprised when it did not budge and turned to her friends.  
“Ideas?” She asked.  
“It’s an old lock,” Ron said while running his fingers over the bronze contraption, “and it’s been used before. There are scratches here. It’s probably made of the same metal too.”  
“So we’re looking for an old bronze key that’s been used before?” Draco said as he looked up at the key cloud, “That’s not exactly helpful.”

As though they had decided to give a hint, a single key swooped down and flew a few meters above their heads, it’s flight stuttered from a broken wing and its bronze colour making it appear matte in comparison to the others. Then it rejoined its companions and vanished into the cluster.

“I’ll do it.” Draco volunteered eagerly, racing over to the broom.  
“Be careful.” Hannah said. And she had cause for slight concern, for as soon as the boy’s hand touched the enchanted wood the swarm rushed down in a frenzy and began to swarm him.  
Draco pulled up his cloak’s hood while mounting the broom in an attempt to protect his face, before hastily taking to the air. The keys covered his skin in small bruises and cuts, and his left leg was already bleeding, but the attack lessoned when he moved, flying around to spot the broken key.

He saw it not long after, its slow flight separating it from the keys that chased him. So with a dive, Draco grabbed the key, broke its other wing and threw it to Ron, who was closest to the door. Without hesitation, Ron shoved it into the lock and slammed the door open. He pulled Hannah inside with him and together they waited for Draco to fly past. When he did, the two pushed the door closed and Hannah locked it again.

“Not my best idea.” Draco gasped as he crouched to catch his breath. Droplets of blood covered his skin from the many cuts, and Hannah used her handkerchief to hastily clean him up.

With a small crumbling sound, the broken key and broom, which had been discarded on the floor, vanished from the new corridor and left the three students alone.  
“Alright,” Ron said while pulling Draco to his feet and moving to take some of the weight, “Lets see what’s next.”  
“Aww, Ron. A Phoenix helping a Gargoyle. What would your parents think?” Draco cooed, but accepted the others help regardless.  
“At least I didn’t get bashed up by some keys. What would your fellow Gargoyles think about that.”  
“I will write you both into a cheesy teen romance complete with pathetic love triangles and angst. I swear to god I will.” Hannah muttered.  
“Oh. Come on, Hannah. The names aren’t that bad.” Said Draco.  
“No, no. There is absolutely nothing cheesy about a secret society of pureblooded creatures that have formed clans based on species and magic type. Noting teen-angst novel worthy there at all.”  
“We’re not a secret society.” Ron replied.  
“So I was the only half blood witch that didn’t know, huh? In the entire planet?”  
“Well, no. But just because we don’t put the information into the local paper doesn’t make it a secret.” Ron muttered.

Their conversation continued until they saw a new room down the passage. They sped up and didn’t even think to stop at the rune-covered pillar that replaced doors as an entrance. Something shimmered in the air, then spun and ripped before it popped, and a giant spider stood before them. Ron shrieked and leapt behind Draco. Once again, the something shimmered and spun. This time, an ant appeared. It towered over the three and began to bite at them.  
“Boggart.” Draco yelled as they ran around. “Feeds off fear.”  
“Yes, I think we get that.” Ron yelled back from the other side of the creature. “How do we beat it?”

The ant spun away and for a moment nothing happened, until it cracked and a beautiful man appeared. Dressed in red silk with his long hair pulled loosely back, the seemingly harmless figure had his arms wrapped lovingly around Hannah, hands over her stomach. He whispered something into the silent girls ear, and that seemed enough to break her from shock. She stepped on his foot and jumped up, smacking the hard part of her skull against his jaw. When his grip slacked, the girl pulled free and ran.  
“Come on.” She yelled over her shoulder, racing towards the exit. There was a cracking sound as the Boggart changed again, but Hannah did not look back to see which fear it was exploiting. There was another set of pillars just up ahead, and the three pushed harder and harder to reach them. Pincers were snapping at their heels, and both boys held their breath in fright until, finally, they crossed the threshold. A sound like the ringing of a great bell came and the students looked back. The Boggart was bashing against an invisible wall, swapping from form to form until it seemed to give up and misted away.

“I’m glad Hermione’s not here with us. I certainly no longer want to be.” Ron said.  
“We knew this wouldn’t be easy. It’s meant to stop thieves after all.” Hannah said as she turned and looked on. “Come on. We’re already at the next obstacle.”

And sure enough, before them was a giant chessboard made from carved marble, with the spaces being a meter squared. Between them and the board was a cloaked statue, holding out a sign with thin fingers.  
Hannah leaned forwards and squinted her eyes, “A general does not send their soldiers off from a leaders desk, for they are right there with them, fighting and dying with the rest.”  
“What?” Draco asked.  
“It means we take the place of some of the pieces. That’s how we get through. We win the game.” A gleam crossed Ron’s face as he stepped forwards.  
“Well. On you get. Do your thing.” Hannah ushered.  
“All right. Hannah, you take the Bishop's square. Draco, you'll be the Queen's side castle. And I'll be a knight.” As he spoke, the mentioned pieces hopped off the board, leaving an open space for the children to occupy.

“What happens now?” Draco said from his starting square.  
“Well, white moves first, and then...we play.” And just as he finished, a white pawn began to slide forwards, scraping the ground loudly.  
“Ah … Ron? You don't suppose this is going to be like...real wizard's chess, right?” Hannah asked quietly. Ron looked at her for a moment with a frown before looking around.  
“Black Pawn to D-5.” He commanded. The selected pawn moved forwards and stopped across from the white pawn. Without hesitation, the white piece lifted its twin swords and smashed the other into three pieces. A magic field pulled across the board and pulled the rubble off to the side, leaving the area spotless once more.  
“Well that answers that question.” Draco huffed, “Don’t get us killed, ok?”

And the game continued. Pieces moved and the magical field pulled of piles of shattered players. Draco was limping in his movements, and while Ron felt sorry for him he did not hold back in his strategizing.   
“Wait a minute. Ron? What are you doing?” Draco gasped after a survey of the board.

Ron did not reply to Draco, but turned to Hannah instead. “Hannah. Listen closely. Once I make my move, the queen will take me. It’s your job to then take the king. Alright?”

“What? No, Ron, you can't. There must be another way. You could be seriously hurt. Find another way.” Hannah yelled with clenched hands.  
Ron smiled sadly and looked down before he silently moved to H-3. “Check.”  
The white queen seemed to move much faster than usual, raising her claymore as she marched.

“Draco. Do something.” Hannah screamed as the piece neared her target, the great sword now over her head.  
“Protego.” The blond boy charmed just as the blade smacked down onto Ron’s head, protecting the red head from most of the damage. The impact still caused injury however and Ron fell to the floor unconscious, his head bleeding.

Hannah yelled and ran towards the white king, leaping to the square directly before the large piece. “Checkmate.”

Neither Draco nor Hannah waited for the king’s sword to fall before they sprinted to Ron’s prone form.

“Ron? Hey.” Hannah lowered her head and placed her hand inside his elbow. When his pulse felt strong and she could see his chest rise and fall she allowed her muscles to relax. “You saved his life.”

Draco looked shocked, his hands shaking as he removed his cloak and bundled it into a make shift pillow.

“I need to go on.” Hannah said after a moment. “Draco, when Ron wakes up you need to find a way out of here. Get Hermione, and get the Professors. Just in case.”  
Draco did not argue. He simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bundle of sweets.  
“I’d offer you something more useful, but you already have a wand.”

The girl took the fabric pouch and nodded her thanks before standing up and racing away, leaving her friends behind. Too quickly, Hannah came to an open room. Her mind was still stuck on Ron and Draco, so she opened the sweets pouch and ate one of the red lollies. Raspberry flavor filled her mouth and she allowed it to calm her down. After giving herself a moment, Hannah stomped her foot and looked around.

The passage behind had been sealed away with a long stretch of mirrored glass, and the forwards exit was engulfed my black flames. In front of her was a long draped table topped with 7 different potion bottles. A small card sat folded in the center, and Hannah reached over to grab it. A riddle was written, telling her that the potions were made up of wine, poison, a potion that would let her go back, and a potion that would let her go forwards.

Hannah put another lollie in her mouth, let it sit by her cheek, and began to read the clues out loud. “First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.”

She looked at the potions, and read the clues again. Then again, and a fourth time before she began to move the bottles back and forwards slightly. Not enough to confuse the order, but enough so she could think without paper. After a few more minutes passed the girl released a sigh and picked up the smallest of the potions. With a small breath, Hannah uncorked the bottle and downed it all. Instantly, an unsettling cold seemed to leech into her veins, making her hairs rise and skin shiver.  
“Better move before that wares off.” Laura said. Hannah ran towards the black flames and tentatively put her hand in. When nothing happened, she walked through and onto the other side.   
“And where have you been?” Hannah huffed once she was through. But Laura was already gone, and only the sound of harmless flame replied. “Honestly.”

“Well, You certainly took your time. But you always were quite slow.” Said a voice that Hannah realized she wasn’t quite ready to hear again.

Turning around, the girl looked down at a circular room, lowered into the ground by several long steps. Closed arches filled with dirty mirrors closed them in, and in the center was the large mirror Hannah had seen on Christmas. And finally, dressed as he had on Baker Farm, was Augustus Quain. He had his back turned, but his eyes still found hers from the mirrors reflection.

“Your bones seemed to have healed nicely. If you were still on the streets, I’d imagine you would have been crippled for life. What a pity. That would have made my job quite a bit easier.”

Hannah did not reply, simply stood and watched from her slightly elevated position.

“Not to mention your refusal to break. I had thought Halloween would be enough, but alas. And to think, just a year ago you would have been perfect. Sitting in your own filth without a thought in your head.”  
“Halloween? The Rat King? You’ve been here from the start.”  
“Yes, yes, very good.” He said patronizingly.  
“So I wasn’t mad, you really were trying to get into our dorm. The turning doorknob.”  
“No. Afraid not. That actually was just you. Now enough small talk. Come here.”

Hannah made to scoff, but found her legs moving on their own. As she approached, Augustus raised a thin arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, holding her before the mirror. A small tugging sensation came from her back, and Hannah remembered the rune she had sewn there. Augustus seemed to realize it as well, as his grip became quite careful.

“Now tell me. What do you see?”

For a moment Hannah could see herself surrounded by a large group of people, but they vanished before she could see who they were. Instead, her own reflection smiled at her and held out a bright red stone. After a moment, the stone was lowered into the reflections pocket, and Hannah saw a finger raise to smiling lips in a show of secrecy. 

As subtly as she could, Hannah lowered her hand and felt the bulge of the stone in her own pocket.

“What do you see?”  
“Er. I … am with my family. All of them. We’re by the lake”  
“Come now. You’ve never been able to fool me Hannah. Don’t try to now.” He squeezed her arm in a painful grip before relaxing it slightly. “You see. My master has great plans for this world of yours. Plans that can only be easily accomplished once he has a certain little something. A certain little something, that conveniently enough, lies in you pocket.”

Hannah tried to pull free but found herself lifted and thrown through the air, smashing into one of the bordering mirrors. She landed heavily on her stomach and had to shield her face from falling glass. A bruise was already forming on her lower back and it made it painful to move.

“Tell me, Hannah. Would you like to see your family again? Your parents? Those Baker children? Egraine? Laura?” Augustus stretched his face into a look of sincerity, a look that did not belong there. “My lord can do that for you. He would grant every dream your mind could comprehend. And all he asks for is that stone and your womb.”

Augustus’ hand was bleeding, which he tried to hide subtly. But the knowledge that the rune would mostly protect her gave her courage.  
“And if I dream of your painful death, would he grant me that?” Hannah said from her laying position. She looked down, trying to pull herself upright without hurting her back, and noticed Egraine’s stone on the floor beneath her.

“How do think this is going to end, girl? Do you truly believe this is a game you can win? You will be put in your place. It’s up to you how broken you will be when you get there.”

As Augustus spoke, Hannah turned Egraine’s stone in her hand. It was strange to do, as she had only ever held it flat, but at that moment she felt compelled to twist it. Three times, and Hannah smiled at how beautiful it was. But once the third turn had finished, the stone emitted a blinding light that made both occupants of the room shield their eyes.

After a moment, the light leaked away and Hannah saw that it was no longer just two in the room. Standing between her and Augustus were four people Hannah never thought she would see again.  
“Are you alright?” Egraine asked from Laura’s side.  
“You’ve been so brave.” Said Hannah’s mother.  
“We’re proud of you, honey.” Her father cooed.

Laura said nothing, and drew the others attention to the spidery man. Egraine, James, and Lily joined hands and pulled, seeming to pull chains from their ethereal bodies. With a quick farewell, the three leapt onto Augustus and sealed him with the bindings. And just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished, taking a screaming Augustus with them.

Hannah was now alone with Laura. And while this wasn’t exactly uncommon, this felt more real.  
“I’m sorry, Hannah.”  
“Why?”  
“I won’t be able to see you anymore. There’s nothing left keeping me here so …”  
“Oh.” Hannah replied lamely.

Laura crouched down and held her twins head gently. Then with soft movements, she leant forwards and kissed Hannah on the forehead.  
“And for pity’s sake, cut your hair. It’s growing out all funny.” Laura said as she faded away.

Hannah sat for a while. She ate another sweet, and slowly maneuvered into a standing position. Her stomach burned, and Hannah lifted her shirt to see why, cringing in pain. The markings on her skin were shimmering, pulsing with red light, and slowly a portion of the pattern faded away. Hannah hissed and leaned against the wall.  
After a few more minutes, she began to stumble to the entrance. Thankfully, just as she was beginning to wonder how she would backtrack through all of the obstacles alone, professor Gaunt and Severus burst through the black flame.

They watched her stumble for a moment before Severus stepped forwards and scooped Hannah up into his arms. She was barely awake as they took her to the hospital wing. It had been quite the morning after all.


	24. Epilogue

“And I am pleased to announce, that this years winner of the house cup is …. Hufflepuff.” Dumbledore yelled across the great hall. The aged wizard clapped his hands and smiled, making the Hogwarts banners change to Hufflepuff colours. A great cheer ran through the hall as everyone congratulated the loyal house for their success. Then the food arrived, and the end-of-year feast began.

Hannah, Hermione, Ron and Draco were seated at the Slytherin table for once, engaging in conversation with Draco’s childhood friends. Their wounds were healed, though Ron had had a concussion for a while, and their tests were finished. And with the philosopher’s stone debacle behind them, all they had to look forwards to was a fun holiday. 

“And you two are invited, of course.” Draco said to Ron and Hermione. “Though if you come, be prepared to see a lot of Professor Gaunt and Professor Snape. They’ll be staying there too.”  
“I don’t know. Would I be welcome there, what with me being …” Ron didn’t dare finish that sentence as Hannah was already raising her eyebrows.  
“Don’t worry about it.” Draco said, eating a piece of carrot, “just get your parents permission.”

__oOoOoOo__

“Where did you move it?” Tom asked.  
“I had to destroy it. This was its last safe place, and it was breeched.” Dumbledore frowned, picking up a lemon drop from the tray in front of him and placing it in his mouth. “What’s more concerning is that we still don’t know who’s doing it. The veil’s still paper thin, even after miss Potter expelled that creature.”  
Minerva and Severus remained silent, listening to their leaders talk with sharp ears.  
“What of the gateway in the Department of Secrets?” Tom leaned forwards and crossed his arms.  
“Still corrupted. This is far from over. The girl will be staying with you during the break, correct?”  
Tom nodded and looked over at his second. “She’ll be safe with us.” And he took a sip of tea.  
“Good, good. And I hear a Weasley will be spending some time there too.” Dumbledore said with a gleam in his eye.

Tom spat the tea out onto his lap and looked over at Severus in horror. “What?”  
“Come now. He’s quite a nice boy.” Severus laughed.  
“But ... but … he’s a Pheonix.”  
“And what is wrong with that?” Minerva huffed.  
“Best not say that around Hannah, or she may write you into her story. Angsty teen literature, or so I’ve heard.” Severus said to his leader with a smile.

__oOoOoOo__

Sirius Black lay on his pile of straw and read the last of his god-daughters writing. At the sound of the wizarding guards doing their weekly rounds, the convict once again hastily hid the journal in a small crack in the wall, and covered it in straw.

“Your food.” Said a cold voice, as a loaf of bread, an apple and a pitcher of water were shoved into his cell. He had to leap over to stop the water from toppling over, and the guard moved on without a second glance. The weekly meal was getting lesser and lesser, and Sirius wondered if perhaps they were trying to starve them to death. It mattered little, however, as in the end it would only serve to help in his escape. The man looked over to the journals hiding spot and smiled happily.


End file.
